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ON THE 



RELIGIOUS PECULIARITIES 



OF THE 



Sottetfi of iFvtenirs* 



BY JOSEPH JOHN GURNEY. 



THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS XOT IX WORD, BUT ITf POWER. I. Cor. IV. 20- 



FIRST AMERICAN FROM THE FOURTH LONDON EDITION.. 



PHILADELPHIA: 

H'BLISHED BY S. POTTER & CO. BENJAMIN & THOMAS KITE, JOHtf 
RICHARDSON, AND KIMBER & SHARPLESS. 

•T. HARDIJfG, TRIXTER, 
1825 




OF WASH* 




•%* 






**■ 



CONTENTS. 



PAGE 



CHAP. I. 

On the grounds of Religious union which subsist 
among mankind in general, and more especially 
among true Christians 1 

CHAP. II. 

On religious peculiarities. General observations on 

those of the Society of Friends ... 29 

CHAP. III. 

On the perceptible influence and guidance of the 

Spirit of Truth 37 

CHAP. IV. 

On the disuse of all typical rites' in the worship of 

God 62 

CHAP. V. 

On the nature and character of the Christian minis- 
try 

CHAP. VI. 



134 



On the selection, preparation, and appointment of 

the ministers of the gospel - 163 



Vlll CONTENTS. 

CHAP. VII. 

On the pecuniary remuneration of the ministers of 

the Gospel 1£>7 

CHAP. VIII. 
On the ministry of Women - 222 

CHAP. IX. 
On silent worship 235 

CHAP. X. 
On Oaths 250 

CHAP. XI. 
On War ------- 276 

CHAP. XII. 

On the moral views of Friends. Plainness of speech, 

behaviour, and apparel 309 

Conclusion -------- 3Q\ 



OBSERVATIONS, &c. 



CHAPTER I. 



ojv THE GROUNDS OF RELIGIOUS UNION WHICH SUBSIST 
AMONG MANKIND IN GENERAL, AND MORE ESPECIALLY 
AMONG TRUE CHRISTIANS. 

To a series of observations on the particular tenets 
and peculiar religious advantages (as I deem them) 
of a comparatively small body of persons, I know of 
no more salutary introduction, than a survey of those 
grounds of union in matters of religion which sub- 
sist, first, among mankind in general, and secondly, 
among the true members of the visible church of 
Christ. Such a survey will, I trust, produce the 
effect of animating our hearts with the love of our 
neighbour, and will prepare us for a calm and cha- 
ritable discussion of those particulars, which apper- 
tain more or less exclusively to our own religious 
situation in the world and in the church. 

I. Let us then, in the first place, endeavour to form 
some estimate of the breadth of that foundation in 
religion, on which we are standing in common with 

A 



2 ON THE GROUNDS OF RELIGIOUS UNION 

mankind in general. God is the Creator and merciful 
Father of us all. Christ died for us all. A measure 
of the influence of the Holy Spirit enlightens, and, 
if obeyed, would save us all. Upon these succes- 
sive positions I will venture to offer a few remarks, 
and will adduce a selection of scriptural declara- 
tions by which they appear to me to be severally 
established. 

1. That God, to whom alone can be attributed the 
existence of the universe, and of every thing which 
it contains, — " from whom, and through whom, and 
unto whom, are all things," — is the creator of all men, 
is a point which none but atheists deny, and which I 
shall therefore take for granted. Now it is expressly 
asserted in Scripture of this omnipotent Author of 
our being, that he is. "Love," I. John iv. 8; and again, 
the character in which he proclaimed himself to his 
servant Moses, was that of "the Lord God, merciful 
and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in good- 
ness and truth;" Exod. xxxiv. 6. Hence we can 
scarcely fail to conclude, that, as the Father of the 
whole family of man, he extends over them all the 
wing of his paternal care, and graciously offers to 
them all his help, his protection and his mercy. It 
was on this principle, or on a principle still more com- 
prehensive, that the royal psalmist, after describing 
Jehovah as " merciful and gracious, slow to anger 
and plenteous in mercy," calls upon "all his works 
in all places of his dominion to bless his holy name ;" 
Ps. ciii. 22. And again, on another occasion he ex- 
pressly declares that " the Lord is good to all, and 
that his tender mercies are over all his ivorks .;" Ps. 



WITH OUR FELLOW MEN AND CHRISTIANS. 3 

cxlv. 9. The attributes of God, as the Creator and 
Father of all mankind, were admirably unfolded by 
the apostle Paul, in his address to the philosophical 
Athenians : " God," said he, " that made the world and 
all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven 
and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; 
neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though 
he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all, life, and 
breath, and all things; and hath made of one blood all 
nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, 
and hath determined the times before appointed, and 
the bounds of their habitation ; that they should seek 
the Lord, if haply they might feel after him and find 
him, though he be not far from every one of us ; for 
in him we live, and move, and have our being ; as 
certain also of your own poets have said,ybr we are 
also his offspring" Acts xvii. 24 — 28. 

Let it not be imagined that^God is the merciful 
Father of all mankind, only, inasmuch as he makes 
his rain to fall, and his sun to shine for them all, and 
bestows upon them all a variety of outward and tem- 
poral benefits. The Scriptures plainly declare that 
he wills for them a happiness of a far more exalted 
and enduring nature. Fallen and corrupt as they are, 
and separated by their iniquities from the Holy One 
of Israel, " he willeth not that any should perish, but 
that all should come to repentance ;" II. Pet. iii. 9. 
And to all mankind he proclaims the same invitation ; 
"let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous 
man his thoughts, and let him return unto the Lord, 
and he will have mercy upon him ; and to our God, 
for he will abundantly pardon;." Isa. Iv. 7. The 



4 ON THE GROUNDS OF RELIGIOUS UNION 

apostle Paul expressly assures us, that "the grace of 
God which bringeth salvation hath appeared to all 
men" Tit. ii. 11; that God our Saviour would " have 
all men to be saved and come unto the knowledge of 
the truth;" I. Tim. ii. 4. And again, he exclaims, 
"we trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of all 
men;" I. Tim. iv. 10. "Look unto me and be ye 
saved, all the ends of the earth" said Jehovah himself, 
"for I am God, and there is none else;" Isa. xlv. 22. 
Nor are these expressions to be understood as being 
of a merely general and undefined character. He 
who offers deliverance to all men, has appointed for 
all men a way of escape; he who would have all men 
to be saved, has provided for all men the means of 
salvation. " God was in Christ, reconciling the ivorld 
unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto 
them ;" II. Cor. v. 19. " God sent not his Son into 
the world to condemn the world ; but that the world 
through him might be saved, John iii. 17. 

2. This concluding observation naturally leads to 
my second proposition, that Christ died for all — a 
proposition in order to the proof of which, I need do 
nothing more than simply cite the explicit declara- 
tions, on this subject, of inspired writers. " My little 
children," says the apostle John in his general epistle, 
" these things write I unto you that ye sin not. And 
if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, 
Jesus Christ the righteous. And he is the propitia- 
tion for our sins, and not for ours only (that is, not 
only for the sins of christians, to the whole company 
of whom this epistle was probably addressed*) but 

* See Michadis Introd. N. T. by Marshy vol iii. clt. 30. 



WITH OUR FELLOW MEN AND CHRISTIANS. 5 

also for the sins of the whole world ;" I. John ii. 1, 2. 
The same doctrine is affirmed by Paul ; " There is one 
God," says he, in his first epistle to Timothy, " and 
one mediator between God and men, the man Christ 
Jesus; who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testi- 
fied in due time ;" chap. ii. 5, 6. We may presume it is 
the same apostle who writes as follows in the epistle 
to the Hebrews, "We see Jesus, who was made a lit- 
tle lower than the angels, for the suffering of death, 
crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace 
of God should taste death for every man;" chap. ii. 9. 
Lastly, in his epistle to the Romans, after declaring 
that we are "reconciled unto God by the death of his 
Son," and in drawing the comparison between Adam 
in whom man fell, and Christ, by whom he is reco- 
vered, Paul argues as follows, " Therefore as by the 
offence of one (judgment came) upon all men to con- 
demnation; even so by the righteousness of one, (the 
free gift came) upon all men unto justification of life; 
for as by one man's disobedience, many (or as in the 
Greek "the many"*) were made sinners : so by the 
obedience of one, shall the many be made righteous* 
Moreover, the law entered, that the offence might 
abound : but where sin aboundeth, grace did much 
more abound : that, as sin hath reigned unto death, 
even so might grace reign through righteousness un- 
to eternal life, by Jesus Christ our Lord;" chap. v. 
1 8 — 2 1 . The complete parall elism observed in this 
passage, between the effects of Adam's transgression 
on the one part, and those of the righteousness of 
Christ on the other, appears to afford a plain and 



U 7T0hX.il. 



I> ON THE GROUNDS OF RELIGIOUS UNION 

satisfactory evidence for the truth of the doctrine of 
universal redemption. The two things are described 
as being in their operation upon mankind absolute- 
ly co-extensive, and as it is true, without limit or ex- 
ception, that all men are exposed to death through 
the sin of Adam, so it is true, without limit or excep- 
tion, that all men may obtain eternal life through 
the righteousness of Christ. Multitudes there are, 
undoubted!}^ by whom this free gift " unto justifi- 
cation of life" is despised, disregarded, and rejected. 
Nevertheless, among the children of men there are 
none " upon" whom it has not " come" — none to 
whom it is not freely offered. 

3. Since Christ died for all men,and has thus placed 
within their reach the free gift of justification unto 
life ; since such is the natural proneness of mankind 
to sin, that none can avail themselves of the benefits 
of the death of Christ, or receive the free gift of God, 
except through the influence of the Holy Spirit; and 
since it cannot without great irreverence be imagin- 
ed that the mercy of God in Christ, thus gratuitously 
offered, should in any instance be merely nominal 
and nugatory in point of fact; I cannot but draw the 
conclusion that a measure of this influence of the 
Spirit is bestowed upon all men, by which they are 
enlightened, and b}^ which they may be saved. 

Christians can have no difficulty in acceding to the 
doctrine of Elihu, that " there is a spirit in man," and 
that " the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them 
understanding," Job. xxxii. 8 ; nor will they fail to 
form a just estimate of the words of the Wisdom of 
God, as recorded in the Book of Proverbs, " I will 



WITH OUR FELLOW MEN AND CHRISTIANS. 7 

pour out my Spirit unto you, I will make known my 
words unto you;" chap. i. 23. That the Spirit which 
in these passages is probably alluded to, and which 
dwelt in the servants of God during the early ages of 
the world, was that very Spirit, the more abundant 
effusion of which was the most distinguishing feature 
of the christian dispensation — that this Spirit was 
the true enlightener and sanctifier of men, before as 
well as after the coming of Christ in the body — and 
that multitudes of those who lived previously to the 
christian era, and whose view of the character and 
mediation of the Messiah was comparatively faint, 
were really saved by its influence from the power of 
sin and fitted for eternal life, — will not be disputed 
by any persons who esteem as sacred the records of 
the Old Testament. Since therefore so many persons 
in those ancient times were saved by the operation of 
the Spirit of Christ, who for the most part possess- 
ed nothing more than an indistinct apprehension of 
the person and offices of the Messiah, it seems a 
very reasonable inference that the outward know- 
ledge of Christ is not absolutely indispensable to sal- 
vation, and that other persons who are altogether 
destitute of that knowledge, may also be saved from 
sin and from the penalties which are attached to it 
through the secret operations of divine grace. 

To this argument from analogy, may be added 
another of no inconsiderable weight. Between the 
effects of Adam's sin and those of the obedience of 
Christ, there is, in various respects, a perfect coinci- 
dence. The doctrine of universal redemption has 
already been deduced, on the authority of the apostle 



8 ON THE GROUNDS OF RELIGIOUS UNION" 

Paul, from the universality of the fall ; and it appears 
to have been provided by the mercy and equity of 
God, that, in both the extent and manner of their 
operation, the analogy should be preserved between 
the disease and the remedy — that the operation of the 
one should still be adapted to the operation of the 
other. Now, as men participate in the disease arising 
from the sin of Adam who are totally ignorant of its 
original cause, so we may with reason infer, that men 
jnay also participate in the remedy arising from the 
obedience of Christ who have received no outward 
revelation whatever respecting that obedience. 

The inference deduced from these premises ap- 
pears to derive, from certain passages in the New Tes- 
tament, substantial confirmation. However Corne- 
lius the Roman centurion, previously to his commu- 
nication with Peter, might have been aware of the 
events recorded in the gospel histories, it is obvious- 
ly improbable that he knew Jesus Christ as the Re- 
deemer of men; yet that he had received the gift of 
the Spirit of grace is indisputable, for he was a just 
man living in the fear of God; Acts x. 22. And what 
was the remark suggested by the case of Cornelius 
to the Apostle Peter ? — " Of a truth I perceive," said 
he, " that God is no respecter of persons ; but in every 
nation, he that feareth him and worketh righteous- 
ness, is accepted with him ;" ver. 34, 35. When the 
apostle used these words, the truth which he con- 
templated appears to have been this : that amongst 
the nations of the Gentile world, ignorant as they 
generally were, both of the institutions of the Jews 
and of the offices of the Messiah, there were indivi- 



WITH OUR FELLOW MEN AND CHRISTIANS. 9 

duals who, like Cornelius, feared God and worked 
righteousness* — who had experienced, therefore, in 
some degree, the sanctifying influence of the Holy 
Spirit — and that such individuals were accepted by 
the Father of mercies, who is no respecter of persons. 
It is true that the mercv of God towards Cornelius 
was displayed after a particular manner, in his being 
brought to the outward knowledge of his Saviour : 
but before he was introduced to that outward know- 
ledge, he was accepted of the Father, and, had he 
died in his condition of comparative ignorance, we 
can scarcely doubt that he would have received, with 
all the children of God, his eternal reward through 
the merits and mediation of Christ. And such, also, 
we may believe to have been the happy experience 
of all those Gentiles whom the apostle was consider- 
ing, who might be so influenced by the power of 
the Lord's Spirit, as to live in the fear of God, and 
to work righteousness* 

That this was, to a considerable extent, the charac- 
ter of some of the most virtuous of the ancient gentile 
philosophers, their recorded sentiments and known 
history afford us strong reasons to believe : and that 
it was the character also of many besides them, who 
were destitute of an outward revelation, we may 
learn without difficulty from the apostle Paul. " Not 
the hearers of the law are just before God," says this 
inspired writer, " but the doers of the law shall be 



* "o <pc£wfjwct uvrov kui igyetgoume ftKcuc,<rw>iv. Colens eum, et exercens 
virtutem, pro modulo cognitionis prim*, ex lumine naturae haustae. Etiam 
inter paganos fuerunt, qui recte de Deo ej usque providentia et regimine 
statuerent. 'Egyago/uitvoe fiKuiovvw, recte agens, secundum legem naturae; 
Rom. ii. 13—27." Rosenmuller Schol. in Act. x. 35. 

B 



10 ON THE GROUNDS OF RELIGIOUS UNION 

justified. For when the Gentiles, which have not 
the law, do by nature the things contained in the 
law, these having not the law, are a law unto them- 
selves; which show the work of the law written in 
their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, 
and their thoughts the meanwhile accusing or else 
excusing one another ;" Rom. ii. 13 — 15. Upon this 
striking and very lucid passage of scripture, it may 
be observed, first, that the law here mentioned is 
not the ceremonial law, as the whole tenor of the 
apostle's argument plainly evinces, but the moral 
law of God, which was outwardly revealed to the 
Jews, and was with still greater completeness un- 
folded under the christian dispensation ; secondly, 
that the Gentiles, here brought into a comparison 
with the Jews, were not those Gentiles who had been 
converted to Christianity ; (for, of persons who had 
received the most perfect outward revelation of the 
moral law, it could not, with any truth, be asserted 
that they had not the lata ;) but they were Gentiles 
who had received no outward revelation whatever of 
the moral law of God ; thirdly, that the work of the 
law was nevertheless written on their hearts, and 
that many of them (according to the apostle's ob- 
vious supposition) were thereby actually enabled to 
become doers of the law : and lastly that these per- 
sons were justified or accepted of the Father.* 

* A curious exemplification of the apostle's doctrine respecting- the 
practical excellence of some of those Gentiles who are destitute of any 
knowledge either of the Jewish law or of the christian revelation, will be 
iound m the following- extract from an account of the Sauds, a moral sect 
of the Hindoos, who dwell in the north-western part of Hindoostan. It 
has been kindly communicated to me by W. H. Trant, a gentleman of 
great respectability, who once occupied an important post in the civil 
service of the East India Company, and who personally visited this singu- 
lar people. 



WITH OUR FELLOW MEN AND CHRISTIANS. 1 1 

Those who accede to this view of the passage 
before us (and such a view is surely just and rea- 
sonable,) will probably find no difficulty in admit- 

" In March 1816, 1 went with two other gentlemen from Futtehgurh, on 
the invitation of the principal persons of the Saud sect, to witness an as- 
semblage of them for the purpose of religious worship, in the city of Fur- 
rukhabad, the general meeting of the sect being held that year in that city. 
The assembly took place within the court yard (Dalan) of a large house. 
The number of men, women, and children, was considerable : we were re- 
ceived with great attention, and chairs were placed for us in the front of the 
JDeorhee or hall. After some time, when the place was quite full of people, 
the worship commenced; it consisted solely in the chanting of a hymn, this 
being the only mode of public worship used by the Sauds. 

The Sauds utterly reject and abhor all kinds of idolatry, and the Ganges 
is considered by them with no greater veneration than by christians, al- 
though the converts are made chiefly, if not entirely, from among the Hin- 
doos, whom they resemble in outward appearance. Their name for God 
is Sutgur, and Saud, the appellation of the sect, means servant of God ; 
they are pure theists, and their form of worship is most simple, as I have 
already stated. 

The Sauds resemble the Quakers in their customs, to a remarkable de- 
gree. Ornaments and gay apparel of every kind are strictly prohibited; their 
dress is always white ; they never make any obeisance or salam ,• they will 
not take an oath, and they are exempted in the courts of justice, — their as- 
severation, as that of the Quakers, being considered equivalent. The Sauds 
profess to abstain from all luxuries, such as tobacco, pawn, opium, and wine ; 
they never have natches or dances. All attack on man or beast is forbidden, 
but in self-defence resistance is allowable. Industry is strongly enjoined. 
The Sauds, like the Quakers, take great care of their poor and infirm people; 
to receive assistance out of the punt or tribe would be reckoned disgrace- 
ful, and render the offender liable to excommunication. All parade of war- 
ship is forbidden; secret prayer is commended; alms should be unostenta- 
tious; they are not to be done that they should be seen of men. The due 
regulation of the tongue is a principal duty. 

The chief seats of the Saud sect are Delhi, Agra, Jypoor, and Furruk- 
habad, but there are several of the sect scattered over the country. An 
annual meeting takes place at one or other of the cities above mentioned, 
at which the concerns of the sect are settled. 

The Magistrate of Furrukhabad informed me that he had found the Sauds 
an orderly and well conducted people. They are chiefly engaged in trade. 

Bhuivanee Dos (one of their leaders) was anxious to become acquaint- 
ed with the christian religion, and I gave him some copies of the New 
Testament in Persian and Hindostanee, which he said he had read and shown 
to his people, and much approved. I had no copy of the Old Testament 
•in any language which he understood well, but as he expressed a strong 
desire to know the account of the creation, as given in it, I explained it to 
him from an Arabic version of which he knew a little. I promised to pro- 
cure him a Persian or Hindostanee Old Testament if possible. I am of 
opinion the Sauds are a very interesting people, and that some intelligent and 
zealous missionary would find great facility in communicating with them. 

fSignedJ 
Calcutta, 2 Aug. 1819. W. H. Thaxt." 



12 ON THE GROUNDS OF RELIGIOUS UNIOIT 

ting this additional proposition — namely, that the 
work of the law written on the hearts of these Gen- 
tiles, through which they were thus enabled to bear 
the fruits of righteousness, was nothing less than the 
inward operation of the Spirit of truth; for Christiani- 
ty plainly teaches us that without such an influence 
there can be no acceptable obedience to the moral 
law of God.* Here it may be observed, that this 
inward work of the Spirit ought not to be confound- 
ed with the operation of the conscience. The two 
things are separately mentioned by the apostle, and 
I would submit that they are in fact totally distinct. 
The law written on the heart is a divine illumination ; 
the conscience is a natural faculty by which a man 

W. H. Trant informs me that, previously to the adoption of their pre- 
sent views, the Sauds do not appear to have received any christian instruc- 
tion. The head of their tribe assured him that they knew nothing of Chris- 
tianity. 

* This consideration is strong and palpable enough to afford, in itself, a 
sufficient evidence, that when the apostle makes mention of their perform- 
ing the works of righteousness " by nature," he cannot be understood as 
alluding to nature unassisted by divine grace. The fruits of the flesh — that 
is, of the carnal and unregenerate state of man — are not righteousness; but, 
as the apostle himself declares, "adultery, fornication y uncleanness, lasci- 
viousness, idolatry," &.c. Gal. v. 19: and, when speaking of men in their 
fallen condition, without grace, he expressly asserts that they are the 
" children of wrath," Eph. ii. 3; " that there is none that doeth good, no, 
not one;" Rom. iii. 12. Besides, after using this expression, he goes on to 
attribute the righteousness of the Gentiles, not to their natural reason or 
acquired wisdom, but to the law written in their hearts." Now this law of 
God written in the heart can be nothing less than a divine illumination; and 
the larger measures of such illumination are described in the very same terms, 
as one of the choicest blessings of the christian dispensation; Jer. xxxi. 33. 
The word qv<nt, appears to refer to that natural condition of the Gentiles, 
by which they were distinguished from the Jews— a condition of compara- 
tive darkness, and one in which they did not enjoy the superadded help of 
a written law,, or outward revelation. Not having a law, they performed 
the works* of righteousness by nature, i. e. " without the law." Just on the 
same principles, in verse 27, the uncircumcised Gentile in his natural con- 
dition, and fulfilling the law, is compared with the Jew, who possesses the 
letter and the external rite, and nevertheless infringes the law. In both 
passages, the state of nature is placed in opposition, not to a state of grace, 
but only to one of outward light and instruction. 



WITH OUR FELLOW MEN AND CHRISTIANS. 13 

judges of his own conduct. It is through the con- 
science that the law operates. The law informs the 
conscience. The law is the light ; the conscience 
is the eye. The light reveals the beauty of any 
given object; the eye "bears witness" to that beauty; 
it beholds and approves. The light is of a uniform 
character, for, when not interrupted, it never fails to 
make things manifest as they really are; but the eye 
may be obscured or destroyed by disease, or it may 
be deceived by the influence of surrounding sub- 
stances. So the law written on the heart, although 
capable of being hindered in its operation, is of an 
unchangeable nature, and would guide invariably 
into righteousness and truth : but the conscience may 
be darkened by ignorance, deadened by sin, or per- 
verted by an illusive education. The conscience 
indeed, like every other natural faculty of the human 
mind, is prone to perversion, and the law written in 
the heart is given not only to enlighten but to rectify 
it. Those only have "a good conscience," who 
obey that law. 

As the Gentiles to whom the apostle was here 
alluding were, according to their measure of light, 
sanctified through the spirit, and when sanctified ac- 
cepted, so I think every christian must allow that 
they were accepted, not because of their ow T n right- 
eousness, but through the merits and mediation of 
the Son of God. Now the benefit, of those merits 
and that mediation, is offered according to the de- 
clarations of Scripture, only to those wfro believe: for 
" without faith it is impossible to please God." The 
doctrine, that we are justified by faith, and that with- 



14 ON THE GROUNDS OF RELIGIOUS UNION 

out faith none can obtain salvation, is to be freely ad- 
mitted as a doctrine revealed to mankind on the au- 
thority of God himself. Let it, however, be careful- 
ly kept in view, that God is equal. It is unquestion- 
ably true in great as well as in little things, that " if 
there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according 
to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath 
not;" II. Cor. viii. 12. The extent of faith required 
in man, in order that he may be accepted with the 
supreme Being, will ever be proportioned to the ex- 
tent of light communicated. Those to whom the 
merits and mediation of the Son of God are made 
known, are undoubtedly required to believe in the 
merits and mediation of the Son of God. Those from 
whom the plan of redemption is concealed, and to 
whom the Deity is manifest only by his outward 
works, and by his law written on the heart, may ne- 
vertheless so believe in God, that it shall be counted 
to them " for righteousness." 

The reader will observe that I have already dedu- 
ced the universality of saving light from the declara- 
tions of Scripture, that God's tender mercies are over 
all his works, and that Christ died for all men. The 
most plausible objection to this inference, arises from 
the notion, so prevalent amongst some christians, that 
the Spirit of God operates on the heart of man only 
in connexion with the outward knowledge of the 
Scriptures and of Christ, and that consequently such 
outward knowledge is indispensable to salvation. 
Having, therefore, endeavoured to remove this objec- 
tion, and to show on apostolic authority, that there 
were individuals in the Gentile world who had no 



WITH OUR FELLOW MEN AND CHRISTIANS. 15 

acquaintance with the truths of religion as they are 
revealed in the Holy Scriptures, but who were 
nevertheless enabled to fear God and work right- 
eousness, I consider there is nothing in the way to 
prevent our coming to a sound conclusion, that, as, 
on the one hand, God is merciful to all men, and 
Christ is a sacrifice for all men, so, on the other 
hand, all men have received a measure of that 
spiritual influence, through which alone they can 
permanently enjoy the mercy of God, or partici- 
pate in the benefits of the death of Christ. 

In confirmation of this conclusion it remains for 
me to adduce the apostle's memorable declaration 
respecting the Son or word of God, that he was 
" the true light which lighteth every man that cometh 
into the world;" John i. 9. In order to apprehend 
the true force of these expressions, it will be de- 
sirable to cite the entire passage of which it forms 
a part. 1. "In the beginning," says the inspired 
apostle, " was the Word, and the Word was with 
God, and the Word was God. 2. The same was 
in the beginning with God. 3. All things were 
made by him ; and without him was not any thing 
made that was made. 4. In him was life, and the 
life was the light of men. 5. And the light shineth 
in darkness, and the darkness comprehended (or 
received) it not. 6. There was a man sent from 
God, whose name was John. 7. The same came 
for a witness, to bear witness of the light, that all 
men through him might believe. 8. He was not 
that light, but was sent to bear witness of that light. 
9. That teas the true light, which lighteth every 



16 ON THE GROUNDS OF RELIGIOUS UNION 

man that cometh into the ivorld. 10. He was in 
the world, and the world was made by him, and 
the world knew him not. 11. He came unto his 
own, and his own received him not. 12. But as 
many as received him, to them gave he power to 
become the sons of God, even to them that believe 
(or believed) on his name. 13. Which were born, 
not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the 
will of man, but of God. 14. And the Word was 
made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld 
his glory, the glory as of the only-begotten of the 
Father,) full of grace and truth." 

In this solemn and emphatic preface to his gos- 
pel history, John has unfolded the character and 
attributes of the Word of God ; that is of the Son 
in his original and divine nature. That this is the 
true meaning of that title, is almost universally al- 
lowed by christian commentators both ancient and 
modern ; and is in my opinion amply proved by the 
known theology of the Jews, at the time when the 
apostle wrote. At the conclusion of the passage, 
we are informed that this divine Word was made 
flesh (i. e. man,) and dwelt amongst us ; and that 
so his glory, as the glory of the only-begotten Son 
of God, became visible. But the order in which 
the apostle has treated his subject, plainly leads 
us to suppose, that, in the previous verses, he is 
speaking of Christ in his condition of pre-existence, 
or at least solely with reference to this original and 
divine nature. I would suggest that the declarations 
respecting the Word contained in verses 10 and 11, 
that he was "in the world" and "came unto his 



WITH OUR FELLOW MEN AND CHRISTIANS. 17 

own," form no exception to this observation ; for 
these declarations may very properly be explained 
of the appearances and visitations of the Son of 
God, (whether visible or merely spiritual) before 
his incarnation. But even if we interpret these 
verses as connected with verse 14, and as forming 
a part of the apostle's account of the incarnation, 
it certainly appears most probable, that the pre- 
ceding doctrine, respecting Christ, relates to his 
operations, only in that glorious and unchangeable 
character, in which he was with God in the begin- 
?ii?ig, and in which he was God. 

Accordingly it is declared, first, that by him all 
things were made; and, secondly, that in him (or 
by him) was life, and that the life was the light of 
men. Let us then enquire in what sense the eter- 
nal Word of God was thus described as the author 
or medium of life and light ? Since all things were 
made by him, he is undoubtedly the origin of their 
natural life, and bountiful giver of those intellectual 
faculties by which man is distinguished from the 
inferior animals ; but those who take a comprehen- 
sive view of the writings of the apostle John can 
scarcely suppose that he is here speaking only of 
the natural life and of the light of reason. The 
" life" of which in eve^ part of his works he makes 
such frequent mention, is the life of which they 
only avail themselves who are the true children of 
God — that spiritual life, in the first place, by which 
the souls of men are quickened in the world, and 
that eternal life, in the second place, which is laid 
up for them in the world to come; see John iii. 15, 

c 



18 ON THE GROUNDS OF RELIGIOUS UNION 

v. 24, 40, vi. 33. 63, viii. 12, xiv. 6, &c. That such 
is here the apostle's meaning is confirmed by a 
comparison with the opening passage of his first 
epistle, in which Jesus Christ, in reference to his 
pre-existence, is expressly denominated that " eter- 
nal life" (i. e. that source of eternal life) " which 
was with the Father." So, also, the word light is 
no where used by the apostle to designate the in- 
tellectual faculty or the light of reason. With him 
that substantive denotes spiritual light — the light 
which is enjoyed by those who come to a real 
knowledge of the truth — the light in which the 
children of God walk before their Father; see John 
iii. 19, viii. 12, ix. 5, I. John i. 7, ii. 8, &c. I con- 
ceive therefore that the apostle's doctrine declared 
in the fourth verse of his gospel, is precisely this — 
that the Son or Word of God, or the Messiah in his 
original and divine character, was the giver of eter- 
nal life and the spiritual quickener and illuminator 
of the children of men. And this inference is 
strengthened by the consideration that " the life" 
here mentioned was " the light ;" for it is the pe- 
culiar characteristic of the spirit of Christ that it 
quickens and enlightens at the same time. That 
very principle within us which illuminates our 
darkness raises our souls from the death of sin, 
and springs up within us unto everlasting life. 

Since such appears to be the true meaning of 
verse 4, we cannot reasonably hesitate in our inter- 
pretation of verse 9. In the former, the light is 
said to be in or by the Word; in the latter, accord- 
ing to a very usual figure of rhetoric, the Word 



WITH OUR FELLOW MEN AND CHRISTIANS. 19 

being the source of the light, is himself denominated 
w light" The light iri either case must be of the 
same character, and if there be any correctness in 
the view we have now taken of the whole passage, 
it can be no other than the light of the Spirit of the 
Son of God. Hence, therefore, I conclude, on the 
authority of the apostle John, that a measure of the 
light of the Spirit of the Son of God, " lighteth 
every man that cometh into the world."* 

Such, according to my apprehension of scriptural 
truth, are the religious advantages which ma} r be 
deemed the common allotment of mankind in gene- 
ral. God is their equal judge, and compassionate Fa- 
ther : the Son of God when, clothed with humanity, 

* John i. 9. Hv to <pas to axuBtvov o <pa>n£a naura. uvB^uttov t^ofxtvov us rev 
stotrpov. «« That was the true light which lighteth every man that cometh 
into the world." It was observed by Augustine, (De Peceatorum meritis 
et remiss, lib. i. § 38.) and the suggestion has been adopted by many modern 
critics, that the words i^ofxtvov sic rev Kt<ry.cv, in this passage, are capable of 
being construed in connexion with <pa>s "the light," instead of with 7rctvra. 
Av^eomov " eveiy man," in which case the sentence must be rendered as 
follows ; " That was the true light, which, coming into the world, lighteth 
every man." Now it ought to be remarked, that the term "every man" 
is in itself very strong and precise. It denotes every individual man, and 
since there is nothing in the context to limit its signification, it must be 
considered as signifying the whole of mankind. Were we, therefore, to 
adopt such a construction and translation of the passage, there would still 
be good reasons for interpreting it, not of that outward knowledge of Chris- 
tianity which is enjoyed by a comparatively small number of human beings, 
but of an internal light bestowed universally on man. It is, however, ob- 
vious, that the commonly adopted construction of this sentence is more 
agreeable to the order of the apostle's words, and therefore more consistent, 
than the other, with the general simplicity and perspicuity of his style. 
That construction is, moreover, confirmed by the consideration that John 
has here adopted a phrase well known amongst the Jews, in its usual sense. 
With that people, "to come into the world" was a common expression 
signifying " to be born ;" and " all men who come into the world," a cus- 
tomary description of " all mankind ;" Vide Lightfoot Hor. Heb. in loc. 
The ancient fathers in general appear to have construed this passage in the; 
same manner as the authors of our English version. See, for example, 
Tertullian, adv. Prax. cap. 12. Ed. Semler. ii. 214 ,• Theodotus, epitom. in 
Ed. Bened. Clement. Alex. p. 979 ,• Origen, in lib. Judicum Homil. Ed. 
Bened. ii. 460. See also the two Syrian JEthiopic, Persic, and Vulgate : 
versions* 



20 ON THE GROUNDS OF RELIGIOUS UNION 

gave his life a ransom for them all : and lastly, through 
the operation of his Holy Spirit, a moral sense of 
right and wrong, accompanied with a portion of 
quickening and redeeming power, is implanted in 
them universally. Here, then, we may perceive 
grounds of union and brotherly kindness co-exten- 
sive with the whole world ; and whilst we cultivate a 
sense of these animating truths, we shall be disposed 
neither to think too highly of ourselves, nor to de- 
spise others. On the contrary a feeling of true chari- 
ty towards our neighbour, of whatever colour or 
country, will spread in our hearts ; and a lively dis- 
position will arise in us to labour for the happiness 
of that universal family, who not only owe their ex- 
istence to the same Creator, but are the common ob- 
jects of his paternal regard and of his redeeming love. 
While I am persuaded of the existence of these 
broad grounds of union ; while I am well satisfied 
in the conviction that there is bestowed upon all 
men that moral sense and that measure of a quick- 
ening influence of which I have spoken ; and while, 
lastly, I am convinced that such a sense and such 
an influence can be justly attributed only to the 
eternal Spirit of the Lord, I am very far from form- 
ing a low estimate of the sinfulness and degrada- 
tion of the heathen world. However universally vi- 
sited by a moral light, it is a mournful and melan- 
choly fact, that men have very generally yielded 
themselves a prey to the deceitfulness and depravity 
of their own hearts. Multitudes indeed there are 
amongst those who have not been made acquainted 
with the truths of Christianity, who, " when they 



WITH OUR FELLOW MEN AND CHRISTIANS. 21 

knew God glorified him not as God, neither were 
thankful ;" but have " changed the glory of the in- 
corruptible God into an image made like to corrup- 
tible man, and to birds, and four-footed beasts, and 
creeping things ;" Rom. i. 21, 23. Hence hath God 
given them over " to uncleanness through the lusts 
of their own hearts," and hence may be applied to 
them that awful description used by the apostle; — 
" Gentiles in the flesh — aliens from the common- 
wealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants 
of promise, having no hope, and without God in the 
world ;"Eph. ii. 11, 12. 

We are not to forget that the same apostle, who 
has drawn this affecting picture of the Gentile world, 
has declared that the Jews, on whom was bestowed 
the written law, were not " better than they ;" Rom. 
iii. 9 — that all will be judged by a perfectly equita- 
ble Being, according to their own demerits, the Gen- 
tiles " without the law," the Jews " by the law," Rom. 
ii. 12 ; and finally, that God " hath concluded them 
all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all ;" 
Rom. xi. 32. Nevertheless, a contemplation of so 
mournful a scene may serve to convince us of the 
unutterable advantages of that outward revelation, 
by which are so clearly made known to us the glo- 
rious attributes of the one true God, the awful reali- 
ties of the eternal world, and the various offices of 
that divine Saviour who is made unto us, of the 
Father, " wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and 
redemption." This consideration naturally leads to 
the second branch of my present subject, and will 
fitly introduce a brief view of those religious advan* 



22 ON THE GROUNDS OF RELIGIOUS UNION 

tages, which are not bestowed upon the world in 
general, but are nevertheless common to all true 
christians. 

II. The visible church of Christ, upon earth, may 
be regarded* either in its most extensive character, 
as consisting of the whole of that proportion of 
mankind who profess Christianity ; or in that nar- 
rower, yet more accurate point of view, in which 
none can be looked upon as its members except 
those persons who really love and serve their Re- 
deemer, and who evince, by their conduct and con- 
versation, that they are brought under the influence 
of vital religion. 

It is to such as these alone, that my present ob- 
servations will be directed. Merely nominal chris- 
tians may indeed be considered as so far partici- 
pating in the religious advantages of the church of 
Christ, as they receive their share of benefit from 
that general amelioration of the moral views and 
habits of mankind, which has in so remarkable a 
manner, been effected by the introduction of Chris- 
tianity. But from the more important, substantial, 
and enduring privileges of the followers of Jesus, 
the careless and disobedient hearers of the truth 
are plainly excluded. Nothing indeed can be more 
fraught with danger, than the condition of those 
persons, who, whilst they profess to believe in 
Jesus, and are called by his name, are nevertheless 
the servants of sin, and are living to the " lusts of 
the world ; the lusts of the flesh ; and the pride of 
life." The light of the Sun of righteousness has 
risen upon them ; but they hide themselves from 



WITH OUR FELLOW MEN AND CHRISTIANS. 23 

its beams. They love " darkness rather than light, 
because their deeds are evil." In despite of those 
awful truths, which, on the authority of their Crea- 
tor himself, have been proclaimed in their hearing, 
they pursue without interruption the mad career 
of vice and dissipation. If there be any class 
amongst mankind, by whom, above others, the 
punishment of " many stripes" may justly be ex- 
pected, it is surely that class who profess without 
practising Christianity, who know their Master's 
will and do it not. "And every one," said our 
Lord Jesus, " that heareth these sayings of mine, 
and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish 
man which built his house upon the sand : and the 
rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds 
blew, and beat upon that house ; and it fell ; and 
great was the fall ofit;" Matt. vii. 26, 27. 

Let us therefore direct our regards to that scat- 
tered family and flock of Christ, appertaining to 
various kindreds, nations, and denominations, who 
have received revealed religion in the love of it; 
who have been made willing in the day of the 
Lord's power; and who, with earnestness and 
honest determination, are fighting the good fight 
of faith, and laying hold of eternal life. 

The religious privileges which are common to 
the whole of this family of true believers in Christ 
are unspeakably valuable. At some of the princi- 
pal of them we may now shortly glance. 

1. They are brought out of darkness into mar- 
vellous light. " Ye are a chosen generation," said 
the apostle Peter to some of the early christians, 



24 ON THE GROUNDS OF RELIGIOUS UNION 

" a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar peo- 
ple ; that ye should show forth the praises of him 
who hath called you out of darkness into his mar- 
vellous light ;" I. Pet. ii. 9. Furnished with ample 
and satisfactory evidences of the truth and divine 
authority of Christianity, they have found in that 
holy religion, as it is recorded in the Holy Scrip- 
tures, a plain statement of all those truths which 
appertain to man's salvation — a clear account of 
the character of man — of the attributes of God — of 
the future life- — of eternal rewards and punish- 
ments, and more especially of that divine Saviour, 
the incarnate Son of God, who died for our sins, 
and rose again for our justification. That outward 
knowledge, which has been thus graciously com- 
municated to them, may truly be denominated a 
" marvellous light." Yet these expressions are 
more properly applicable to that spiritual illumi- 
nation, by which the humble followers of Jesus are 
enabled to form a right estimate of the things of 
God. True christians may be described as persons 
whose moral optics are rectified. God has given 
them the spirit of " a sound mind." Every thing 
connected with religion appears to them (as far as 
is consistent with the narrow limits of the appre- 
hension of mortals) in its real dimensions. From 
the secret illumination of the Lord's Holy Spirit, 
and by the instrumentality of the outward revela- 
tion of divine truth, they are enabled to form a 
comparatively just view of themselves — of their 
Creator — of virtue and vice — of the world and 
eternity — of heaven and hell, — and more particu- 



WITH OUR FELLOW MEN AND CHRISTIANS. 25 

larly of Jesus Christ, as their Mediator with the 
Father, as their divine and all-powerful Redeemer. 
Such persons can acknowledge with humble grati- 
tude, that " the darkness is past," and that " the 
true light now shineth ;" I. John, ii. 8. 

2. The religion respecting the truths of which 
christians are thus enlightened is a 'powerful reli- 
gion. In other words, it is the medium through 
which the power of God operates upon them, for 
the great purposes of sanctification and salvation. 
Thus the apostle Paul expressly asserts, that the 
gospel of Christ is " th& poiver of God unto salva- 
tion;* 9 Romans, i. 16. Again he says, "The preach- 
ing of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; 
but unto us which are saved it is the power of 
God," I. Cor. i. 18: and in addressing his Ephesian 
converts, he makes particular mention of the " ex- 
ceeding greatness" of the "poiver" of God " to us- 
ward who believe, according to the working of his 
mighty power, which he wrought in Christ, when 
he raised him from the dead, and set him at his 
own right hand in the heavenly places;" Eph. i. 19, 
20. We may conclude, therefore, that " the grace 
of God which bringeth salvation," and which " hath 
appeared unto all men," is, with a pre-eminent ful- 
ness of measure, poured forth on the believers in 
Jesus. "We trust in the living God," says the 
same Apostle, " who is the Saviour of all men, 
specially of those that believe;" I. Tim. iv. 10. 

Faith in the Son of God is not the mere assent 
of the understanding to the mission and divinity of 
Jesus. // is a practical and operative ^rmciple of 

D 



26 ON THE GROUNDS OP RELIGIOUS UNION 

wonderful energy* Those who live by this faith 
enjoy an access unto the Father by a new and liv- 
ing way, which Christ hath " consecrated for them 
through the veil, that is to say, his flesh." Their 
dependence is placed, not upon their own strength 
and wisdom, but upon that Great High Priest of 
their profession, who " ever liveth to make inter- 
cession" for them — who " is able also to save them 
to the uttermost that come unto God by him," 
Heb. vii. 25 ; and at his gracious hands, they re- 
ceive that more abundant effusion of the Holy 
Spirit, by which they are enabled in a distinguish- 
ed degree, to mortify the deeds of the flesh, and to 
become conformed to the will of a righteous and 
holy God. Thus do they experience, that, " if any 
man be in Christ, he is a new creature : old things 
are passed away; behold, all things are become 
new;" II. Cor. v. 17. 

3. The followers of Jesus Christ being enlighten- 
ed in their darkness, and strengthened in their 
weakness, are animated during the varied course of 
their earthly pilgrimage, with the clear hope of 
immortal joy. Their treasure — their conversation 
are in heaven : their desire is fixed on " that city 
which hath foundations, whose maker and builder 
is God." They are seeking " a better country, that 
is, a heavenly." Often indeed are they cast down 
under a humbling sense of their great infirmities, 
and many transgressions ; and are at times scarcely 
able to entertain the belief that thev shall " be 
counted worthy of the kingdom of God." Yet, as 
their regards remain steadily fixed on that Saviour 



WITH OUR FELLOW MEN AND CHRISTIANS. 27 

who died for their sins, and rose again for their 
justification; as they are "kept by the power of 
God, through faith ;" they are seldom permitted to 
sink into despondence, or finally to lose a peaceful 
expectation of that inheritance which is ".reserved 
for them in heaven" — " an inheritance incorrupti- 
ble and undefiled, and that fadeth not away;" I. 
Pet. i. 4. 

4. Lastly. — They are, in a pre-eminent manner, 
" baptized by one Spirit into one body. How de- 
lightful is the union which subsists among the nu- 
merous members of this holy family! It is true 
that their views, in some respects, are far from be- 
ing perfectly coincident. — It is true that they are 
ranged under various banners, and are designated 
by a considerable diversity of denomination. — It is 
true also, that they do not all possess the same 
measure of light ; and that the sentiments of some 
amongst them are of a more spiritual character than 
those of others. Nevertheless, their ground of ac- 
cordance is at once wide and substantial. Their 
footing is placed on the same Rock of ages, and 
that Rock is Christ. They enjoy a true fellowship 
one with another, even because their fellowship is 
" with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ." 
Love is the blessed principle by which they are 
united, and which animates them in the prosecu- 
tion of joint efforts, conducted on common princi- 
ples, in support of the same cause. 

Such then are the religious privileges which ap- 
pear to distinguish, from mankind in general, the 
members of the true visible church of Christ ; and 



28 ON THE GROUNDS OF RELIGIOUS UNION, &C. 

which as it relates to them, are universal. They 
are in a peculiar manner brought out of darkness 
into marvellous light — they experience the exceed- 
ing greatness of the power of God revealed in 
Christ for their salvation — they are cheered by a 
prospect of immortal joy clearly manifested to them 
by the gospel ; and in a pre-eminent degree they 
are brought into spiritual fellowship one with an- 
other. May the love, which cements together the 
varied members of this mystical body of Christ, 
more and more abound : may the barriers which 
ignorance or prejudice have reared amongst them 
be broken through and demolished: may chris- 
tians be enabled increasingly to strive together 
for the hope of the gospel ; and while they indi- 
vidually draw nearer to the Fountain of all good, 
may they be enabled yet more perfectly, to enjoy 
" the communion of the Holy Ghos V — -to " keep 
the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace !" 



CHAPTER II. 



ON RELIGIOUS PECULIARITIES.— GENERAL OBSERVA- 
TIONS ON THOSE OF THE SOCIETY OF FRIENDS. 

The members of the true visible church of Christ, 
some of whose common religious privileges have 
now been described, are divided, as the reader 
cannot fail to know, into a variety of particular 
societies. United as they are in the fundamental 
principles of repentance towards God, and faith 
towards our Lord Jesus Christ, these societies are 
distinguished from one another by different and 
sometimes even opposite views and practices in 
connexion with several particulars in religion of a 
less essential character.* 

When we consider the infirmity and deceitful- 
ness of the heart of man, and remember how often 
the power of habit and prejudice are found to in- 
terfere with a just and enlightened apprehension 
of truth, it is no matter of wonder that such a re- 
sult should have taken place. Nor ought we, in 
tracing the causes of these differences, by any 

* I am well aware that, in the various societies of professing 1 christians, 
many persons are necessarily included, who cannot, on any sound scriptural 
principle, be considered members of the true visible church of Christ. To 
such nominal professors of religion, under whatever denomination they 
may be rang-ed, I am not now alluding-; and I must in a particular manner 
request my reader to observe, that in treating- of the Society of Friends 
&S forming a part of that true church, my views are directed only to those 
persons, of our peculiar profession, who are really living- under the influ- 
ence of vital religion. 



30 (GENERAL OBSERVATIONS ON 

means to forget, that on many points of a merely 
secondary nature — those particularly which relate 
to modes of worship and of church government — 
there is to be found, in the divinely authorized re- 
cords of the christian revelation, very little of pre- 
cise direction ; and thus is there obviously left, in 
reference to such points, a considerable scope for 
the formation of different views. 

However indeed the diversities, which are per- 
mitted in some degree to divide from one another 
the servants of the same divine Master, may afford 
many humbling proofs of weakness and imperfec- 
tion, and in some instances of real degeneracy 
from the original strength and purity of truth, we 
ought nevertheless, to acknowledge that, while 
christians are preserved in the love and fear of 
God, these diversities are in various respects over* 
ruled for their good. The existence of different 
opinions, respecting minor points, entails on us the 
necessity of a careful selection of our own particu- 
lar course, and thus operates indirectly as a stimu- 
lus by which we are induced to bestow a closer 
attention on religion in general. Such a difference 
of sentiment brings with it moreover a course of 
moral discipline; for many occasions arise out of 
this source which call for the exercise of christian 
charity — of mutual liberality, meekness, and for- 
bearance ; nor is it unreasonable to suppose that as 
we rightly avail ourselves of this discipline, it will 
be one means of preparing us for a perfect unanimi- 
ty of sentiment in a better state of being. While, 
lastly, a reasonable hope may be entertained that, 



RELIGIOUS PECULIARITIES. 31 

as the church militant proceeds in her appointed 
career, a gradual yet certain advancement will take 
place among her members to a state of greater unity 
and more entire simplicity, yet it can scarcely be 
denied that in that variety of administration, through 
which the saving principles of religion are for the 
present permitted to pass, there is much of a real 
adaptation to a corresponding variety of mental 
condition. Well therefore may we bow with thank- 
fulness before that infinite and unsearchable Being 
who, in all our weakness, follows us with his love, 
and who, through the diversified mediums of reli- 
gion to which the several classes of true christians 
are respectively accustomed, is still pleased to 
reveal to them all the same crucified Redeemer, and 
to direct their footsteps into one path of obedience, 
holiness, and peace. 

The particular sentiments and practices which 
distinguish respectively the different classes of true 
christians, may be denominated religious peculiari- 
ties ;* and before I proceed to the discussion of 
those which distinguish the Society of Friends, I 
would invite the candid attention of the reader to 
two excellent rules, laid down by the apostle Paul, 
on the subject of somewhat similar distinctions in 
matters of religion. 

* The term religious peculiarities has been adopted for the sake of con- 
venience and perspicuity, and I conceive it to be accurately descriptive of 
those opinions and customs which distinguish, from other parts of the church, 
any one community of christians. It is far from my intention, by the use of 
such a term, to convey the idea that such distinctions are of little practical 
consequence. With regard to the religious peculiarities of Friends, it is. 
the very object of the present work to evince their importance, and to 
show their real connexion with the fundamental principles of the gospel 
of Christ, 



32 GENERAL OBSERVATIONS 0;\ 

The first of these rules enjoins, that christians, 
united as they are in the great fundamentals of 
doctrrne and practice, should abstain from judging 
or condemning one another on account of their 
minor differences. " Let not him that eateth de- 
spise him that eateth not; and let not him that 
eateth not judge him that eateth ; for God hath re- 
ceived him. Who art thou that judgest another 
man's servant? to his own master he standeth or 
falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up : for God is 
able to make him stand;" Rom. xiv. 3, 4. 

The differences of opinion and conduct to which 
Paul was here alluding were indeed of less magni- 
tude, and appertained to matters of less practical 
importance, than many of those which now exist 
within the more extended borders of the church of 
Christ ; but whatever change may have taken place 
in this respect in the circumstances of christians, 
it is plain that the apostle's principle of mutual 
liberality still holds good ; -and that, while in our 
various allotments within the church we are re- 
spectively endeavouring to " live unto the Lord," 
it is our unquestionable duty to refrain from the 
crimination and condemnation one of another. Had 
this principle been uniformly observed among those 
who call themselves christians, where would have 
been the vexatious disputes, the polemical severity, 
and above all, the cruel persecutions, which have 
retarded the progress and disgraced the profession 
of a pure and peaceable religion ? 

The apostle's second rule respecting the different 
views maintained by christians in his own time, is 



RELIGIOUS PECULIARITIES. 33 

applicable, with an increased degree of force, to 
those more important religious peculiarities, by 
which in the present day the church is divided into 
classes. " Let every man," says he, " be fully per- 
suaded in his own mind" — a rule to which may be 
added his emphatic remark, "happy is he that con- 
demneth not himself in that thing which he allow- 
eth;" Rom. xiv. 5, 22. In order to obtain that 
" full persuasion", to which we are thus exhorted, 
it is plainly necessary for us to comply with an- 
other precept of the same inspired writer, — " prove 
all things;" I. Thes. v. 21. That it is very gene- 
rally desirable for christians, who are arrived at 
years of sound discretion, to prove those peculiar 
religious principles in which they have been edu- 
cated, — to examine the foundation on which they 
rest, — to try them by the test of Scripture and ex- 
perience, — and more especially, with all humility 
and devotion of heart, to seek the counsel of God 
respecting them, — will not be disputed by persons 
of good sense, candour, and liberality. Such a 
course seems to be prescribed, not only by the rule 
already cited, but by the exhortation of the apostle 
Peter ; — " Add to your faith virtue ; and to virtue 
knowledge;" II. Pet. i. 5; an "exhortation perfectly 
coincident with the injunction of Paul, — " Brethren, 
be not children in understanding : howbeit in malice 
be ye children, but in understanding be men ;" L 
Cor. xiv. 20. 

This careful and devout examination might, in 
various instances, lead to the discarding of views 
?nd practices which are useless and irrelevant, and 

E 



34 GENERAL OBSERVATIONS ON 

which have no favourable influence in promoting 
the cause of vital and practical religion. On the 
other hand, should any christian be led by such a 
proving of his peculiar principles, to a "full per- 
suasion" that, being founded on the law of God, 
they are calculated to edify himself, and to promote 
the spiritual welfare of the church in general, it 
becomes him again to obey the dictate of the apos- 
tle, and to " holdfast that which is good ;" I. Thes. 
v. 21. 

Having premised these general remarks, I shall 
proceed, in pursuance of my main object, to apply 
them to the religious peculiarities of that society 
of christians of which I am myself a member. 

There are, I believe, few persons accustomed to 
a comprehensive view of the whole militant church, 
and of the course which true religion is taking 
amongst mankind, who will be disposed to deny 
that the situation occupied in the body by the So- 
ciety of Friends is one of considerable importance 
to the cause of righteousness. My own observa- 
tion has indeed led me to form the conclusion, that 
there are some spiritually-minded persons, not im- 
mediately connected with Friends, who go still 
further, and who even rejoice in the consideration, 
that, among the various classes of the christian 
church, there is numbered one fraternity who bear 
a plain and decisive testimony against warfare in 
all its forms — against oaths under any pretext — 
and against all hiring or paying of the ministers of 
the gospel : a fraternity whose practice and history 
afford a sufficient evidence that God may be ac- 



RELIGIOUS PECULIARITIES. 35 

ceptably and profitably worshipped without the 
intervention of a single typical ceremony, and with- 
out the necessary or constant aid of any human 
ministry. However such persons may differ from 

* us in the precise view of these very subjects, they 
appear to be aware that the tendency of our pecu- 
liarities is good, and they will allow that Christiani- 
ty in its progress through the world may derive no 
trifling advantage from the circumstance, that these 
religious principles are, by some at least among the 
followers of Jesus, plainly and resolutely upheld. 

That such an apprehension is well founded — 
that the consistent and religious part of the Socie- 
ty of Friends are actually occupying an important 
and useful station in the mystical body of Christ — 
that their peculiar principles are of an edifying 

. tendenc}', and are calculated to promote the spi- 
ritual welfare, not only of Friends themselves, but 
of the church in general — is the deliberate convic- 
tion of my own mind ; and it is probable that the 
persons for whose use this work is principally in- 
tended may very generally unite with me in enter- 
taining that conviction. 

If such be the case, I would remind them, that 
no religious views or practices can be salutary in 
the long run, or truly promote the spiritual progress 
of the militant church, which are the mere crea- 
tures of human reason and imagination, and which 
do not arise directly or indirectly out of the essen- 
tial and unalterable principles of the law of God. 
I may with humility acknowledge my own persua- 
sion, that the religious peculiarities of the Society 



36 GENERAL OBSERVATIONS, &C. 

of Friends do indeed arise out of those principles ; 
and to the proof of this point my future observa- 
tions respecting them will be chiefly, if not exclu- 
sively, directed. In the first place, however, I 
must call the reader's attention to a few arguments 
and reflections respecting an important doctrine of 
religion, which, although by no means peculiar to 
Friends, is certainly promulgated amongst them 
with a peculiar degree of earnestness, and which 
lies at the root of all their particular views and 
practices — the doctrine of the perceptible influence 
and guidance of the Spirit of truth 



CHAPTER III. 



ON THE PERCEPTIBLE INFLUENCE AND GUIDANCE OF 
THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH. 

It is generally allowed amongst the professors 
of Christianity, that in us, that is in our " flesh" or 
natural man, dwelleth no good thing ; that we are 
unable of ourselves to fulfil the law of righteous- 
ness, or to serve the Lord with acceptance, and 
that the fountain of all true moral excellence in 
mankind, is the Spirit of God. The serious and 
enlightened christian of every denomination will 
readily confess that it is only through the influence 
of this Holy Spirit that he is enabled rightly to 
apprehend God, to know himself, and to accept 
Jesus Christ as his all-sufficient Saviour — that it 
is only through such an influence that he is con- 
verted in the first place, and afterwards sanctified 
and prepared for his heavenly inheritance. 

The differences of sentiment which exist in the 
church, on this great subject, have respect not to 
the question whether the Holy Spirit does or does 
not operate on the heart of man, for on this ques- 
tion all true christians are agreed ; but principally, 
if not entirely, to the mode in which that Spirit 
operates. 

On this point there appears to exist among the 
professors of Christianity, and even among serious 



38 ON THE PERCEPTIBLE INFLUENCE 

christians, a considerable diversity of opinion. Some 
persons conceive, that the Spirit of God does not 
influence the heart of man directly, but only through 
the means of certain appointed instruments ; such 
as the Holy Scriptures, and the word preached. 
Many others, who allow the direct and independent 
influences of the Spirit, and deem them absolutely 
essential to the formation of the christian charac- 
ter, refuse to admit that they are perceptible to 
the mind, but consider them to be hidden in their 
action and revealed only in their fruits. Now with 
Friends (and I believe with very many persons not 
so denominated) it is a leading principle in reli- 
gion — a principle on which they deem it to be in a 
particular manner their duty to insist — that the 
operations of the Holy Spirit in the soul are not 
only immediate and direct, but perceptible ; and 
that we are all furnished with an inward Guide or 
Monitor who makes his voice known to us, and 
who, if faithfully obeyed and closely followed, will 
infallibly conduct us into true virtue and happiness, 
because he leads us into a real conformity with the 
will of God. 

That our sentiments on this important subject are 
well founded — that the principle in question forms 
a constituent part of the unchangeable truth of God ? 
is satisfactorily evinced, according to our apprehen- 
sion, by various declarations contained in the Holy 
Scriptures. 

In a former chapter I have called the attention of 
the reader to the doctrine that a measure of the 
Spirit of the Son of God is bestowed upon all man- 



AND GUIDANCE OF THE SPIRIT. 39 

kind, and I have endeavoured to show it to be in 
reference to his spiritual appearance in the hearts 
of his creatures, that Christ is styled " the true light 
which lighteth every man that cometh into the 
world." Now it is certain that nothing can justly 
be denominated light, which does not make manifest. 
"All things that are reproved," says the apostle 
Paul, " are made manifest by the light, for whatsoever 
doth make manifest is light;" Eph. v. 13. Since 
then Christ, or the Spirit of Christ, in those opera- 
tions which are altogether internal and independent 
of an outward revelation, is light, it is plain that 
this Spirit in such inward operations makes manifest 
— communicates an actual moral sense — teaches 
what is right and what is wrong, in a perceptible or 
intelligible manner. Thus the Psalmist prayed as 
follows ; " O send out thy light and thy truth, let 
them lead me ; let them bring me unto thy holy hill 
and to thy tabernacles ;" Ps. xliii. 3. The light and 
the truth for which he thus offered up his petitions, 
could not be the written law of which he was already 
in possession : the expressions are rather to be un- 
derstood of the light of God's countenance, and the 
truth revealed by his Spirit ; and these, according 
to the views of the Psalmist, were at once percepti- 
ble and powerful, for they were to lead him in the 
way of righteousness, and to bring him to the holy 
hill and tabernacles of God. 

Under the christian dispensation the Holy Spirit 
is poured forth in pre-eminent abundance, as has 
been already observed and as the Scriptures testify, 
on the souls of true believers in Jesus Christ. Of 



40 ON THE PERCEPTIBLE INFLUENCE 

the operations of divine grace under this new cove* 
nant, none of the inspired writers appear to have 
enjoyed a clearer view than the apostle Paul. Often 
was he led to expatiate on the Spirit who " dwells" 
in the children of God, and who enables them, on 
the one hand, to mortify their carnal affections, and, 
on the other, to bear the peaceable fruits of righteous- 
ness. It is in or after this Spirit that the apostle 
commands us to walk: "If we live in the Spirit let 
us also walk in the Spirit ;" Gal. v. 25 : and again, 
to the Romans, he says, " there is therefore now no 
condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, 
who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit ;" 
Rom. viii. 1. Now to walk in or after the Spirit 
who dwells in us, can be nothing less than to con- 
form our life and conversation to his dictates ; and 
this we could not do unless those dictates were per- 
ceptible to the mind. On the same principles the 
apostle has on two occasions described christians as 
persons who are led by the Spirit. " If ye be led 
of the Spirit, ye are not under the law;" Gal. v. 18. 
" For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they 
are the sons of God ;" Rom. viii. 14. Any one, who 
impartially examines the two chapters from which 
these quotations are derived, will easily perceive 
that the leading, of which Paul is here speaking, is 
not the instruction derived from inspired preaching, 
or from divinely authorized Scripture, but an in- 
ternal work carried on by the Spirit in the soul of 
man. If then there be given to us an internal com- 
munication of the Spirit of truth by which we are 
to be led 9 it is surely very plain that such commu- 



AND GUIDANCE OF THE SPIRIT. 41 

nication must be made manifest to our mental per- 
ception, or otherwise we could not follow it. 

The Spirit whose practical influence the apostle 
thus describes is the Spirit of Christ. With this 
inspired writer the declarations that the spirit is in 
us and that Christ is in us appear to be equivalent. 
" But ye," says he, " are not in the flesh, but in the 
Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. 
Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he 
is none of his. And if Christ be in you, the body 
is dead, because of (or as it relates to) sin ; but the 
Spirit is life because of (or as it relates to) righteous- 
ness :" Rom. viii. 9, 10. Since then the apostle 
teaches us that we are to be led by the Spirit, and 
that the Spirit by whom we are to be led is the 
Spirit of Christ, we may without difficulty under- 
stand the principle on which Christ is denominated 
" the Shepherd and Bishop of souls ;" I. Pet. ii. 25. 
The character of Jesus, as the Shepherd of his 
people, was unfolded in very touching expressions 
by our Lord himself. " I am the good Shepherd, 
said he, " and know my sheep, and am known of 
mine, .... other sheep I have, which are not of this 
fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear 
my voice, and there shall be one fold, and one Shep- 
herd." — "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, 
and they follow me ; and they shall never perish, 
neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand;" 
John x. 14, 16, 27, 28. The disciples of Jesus who 
were gathered to him during his short abode upon 
the earth, undoubtedly enjoyed the privilege of be- 
ing instructed by his outward voice, but that voice 

F 



42 ON THE PERCEPTIBLE INFLUENCE 

of Christ, which was to be afterwards heard by his 
sheep who were not of the Jewish fold, and which 
is still heard by his faithful followers, whom he 
leads "in the way of righteousness," we may con- 
clude to be the voice of his Spirit — a voice inward- 
lv communicated to the soul of man. Such a view 
of our Lord's pastoral office and of the method by 
which it is conducted, is perfectly accordant with 
the promise which he made to his disciples on a 
subsequent occasion : — " I will pra}^ the Father, and 
he shall give you another comforter, that he may 
abide with you for ever; even the Spirit of Truth ; 
whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth 
him not, neither knoweth him : but ye know him ; 
for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you." .... 
" But the comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom 
the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you 
all things, and bring all things to your remembrance 
whatsoever I have said unto you;" John xiv. 16, 17, 
26. — " Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, shall 
come, he will guide you into all truth ; for he shall 
not speak of himself, but whatsoever he shall hear 
that shall he speak ; and he shall shew you things 
to come. He shall glorify me ; for he shall receive 
of mine and shall shoiv it unto you;" John xvi. 13, 
14. 

These passages contain a plain description of the 
perceptible guidance of the Spirit of Christ; and the 
same doctrine was declared with equal clearness by 
the apostle John, at a period when the promises 
thus made by the Lord Jesus had been graciously 
fulfilled in the experience of his disciples, "But 



AND GUIDANCE OF THE SPIRIT. 43 

ye," says the apostle, " have an unction from the 
Holy One, and ye know all things." . . . . " The 
anointing which ye have received of him abideth in 
you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but 
as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and 
is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught 
you, ye shall abide in him ; I. John ii. 20, 27. 

It may indeed be remarked that the disciples 
who personally received these promises, and many 
of those primitive christians whom the apostle was 
thus addressing, were endowed for special pur- 
poses with miraculous powers, and with a corre- 
spondent extraordinary measure of the Holy Spirit ; 
but it cannot, I think, with any reason be denied that 
the promise of the Holy Ghost, the fulfilment of 
which is described in this passage of the epistle of 
John, was addressed to all who might believe in all 
ages of the church of Christ. " He that believeth 
on me," said the Saviour, "out of his belly shall 
flow rivers of living waters," John vii. 38 ; and in a 
passage already cited, he expressly declared that 
the Spirit whom he thus promised to believers 
should abide with them "for ever." "Repent," 
cried the apostle Peter to the listening multitude, 
and be baptized every one of you, in the name of 
Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins, and ye shall 
receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise 
is unto you and unto your children, and to all that 
are afar off, even unto as many as the Lord our 
God shall call ;" Acts ii. 38, 39. Hence, therefore, 
it follows that the true believers in Jesus, of every 
description and in all ages, are in a peculiar and 



44 ON THE PERCEPTIBLE INFLUENCE 

pre-eminent manner visited and guided by the 
Comforter. No longer are they to depend on the 
teaching of their fellow creatures, for the anointing 
which they have received of Christ abideth in them, 
and teacketh them all things, mid is truth, and no lie. 

Such was indeed one of the most striking charac- 
teristics of that new dispensation under which all 
real christians are living ; and I cannot better con- 
clude this selection of scriptural evidences on the 
perceptible inward guidance of the Holy Ghost, 
than by citing a well known prophetical description 
of that dispensation : — "Behold, the days come, saith 
the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the 
house of Israel and with the house of Judah : not ac- 
cording to the covenant that I made with their fathers, 
in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them 
out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they 
brake, though I was a husband unto them, saith the 
Lord ; but this shall be the covenant that I will make 
with the house of Israel ; after those days saith the 
Lord; I will put my laiv in their inward parts, and 
write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and 
they shall be my people. And they shall teach no 
more every man his neighbour, and every man his 
brother, saying, Know the Lord; for they shall all 
know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of 
them, saith the Lord ; for I will forgive their iniqui- 
ty, and I will remember their sin no more;" Jer. 
xxxi. 31 — 34. comp. Heb. viii. 8 — 13. 

Thus explicit are the declarations contained in 
both the Old and New Testaments, respecting the 
actual illumination of divine grace — the intelligible 



AND GUIDANCE OP THE SPIRIT. 45 

voice of the true Shepherd — the perceptible guid- 
ance and instruction of the Spirit of Truth in the 
souls of men. 

While it may be hoped that the spiritually-mind- 
ed christian will readily admit the force of these 
scriptural evidences, and will cheerfully embrace 
that profitable truth which they so clearly un- 
fold, it is not to be forgotten, that the human ima\ 
gination is very active and very delusive : and thai) 
persons who are superficial in religion, or who are. 
not sufficiently watchful, may sometimes mistake! 
the unauthorized dictates of their own minds for the 
voice of a divine and unerring guide. That errors 
of this description have on many occasions occurred 
must be freely allowed; and that under particular 
circumstances they may probably continue to oc- 
cur, will not be denied by those, who are sufficient- 
ly aware of the infirniity and deceitfulness of the 
heart of man. It appears, therefore, on the one 
hand, that the inward illumination of the Spirit of 
God is mercifully bestowed on us as a perceptible 
guide to righteousness; and on the other hand, that 
we are exceedingly liable to be led about by the 
dictates of our own imagination. Such a view of 
the subject necessarily introduces the enquiry, by 
what characteristics the voice of the Lord's Spirit 
and the voice of unauthorized human imagination, 
in matters of religion, may be distinguished from 
each other. 

That the two influences of which I have spoken, 
the true guide and the false guide, are in reality 
absolutely distinct, different, and sometimes even 



46 ON THE PERCEPTIBLE INFLUENCE 

opposite, the least reflection may serve to convince 
us. The true guide is the " day-spring from on 
high," and comes immediately from God, in whom 
there is no mixture of evil, and who is the original 
arid unfailing source of all good. The false guide is 
the creature of human infirmity and misapprehen- 
sion, and frequently the source out of which it 
arises is positively evil and corrupt Those who 
are faithfully following the true guide are the dedi- 
cated children of a holy God. Those who are fol- 
lowing only the false guide have constructed for 
themselves an unsound religion, and are mere en- 
thusiasts. 

As the voice of the true Shepherd and the voice 
of the stranger are thus really distinct and in fact 
opposed to one another, so, I believe, the sincere 
and humble christian, who has been taught the les- 
son of waiting upon God, and whose religion is of no 
shallow character, will be, by divine grace, enabled 
to discern the one from the other. He will find 
that they are clearly distinguished, first, by the 
mode of their operation, and secondly by the fruits 
which they produce. 

First, with respect to the mode of their opera- 
tion. The human imagination, when applied to 
matters of religion, may often be justly described 
as working in the whirlwind. It is violent in its 
impulses : it lays hold of us, and leads us astray 
when we are in a condition of restlessness and tem- 
porary confusion, and when the disquietude in 
which we find ourselves, affords a sufficient evi- 
dence to any candid mind that self is predominant. 



AND GUIDANCE OF THE SPIRIT. 4/ 

On the other hand, the voice of Christ in the heart 
is not more pure than gentle. Justly may it be 
denominated the " still small voice," and clearly is 
the mode of its operation, as distinguished from the 
mode in which the dictates of mere imagination 
operate, illustrated by that part of the histor}^ of 
the prophet Elijah, from which these expressions 
are borrowed. When Elijah stood before the Lord 
on mount Horeb, we read that the Lord passed by, 
and a great and a strong wind rent the mountains, 
and brake in pieces the rock before the Lord; but 
the Lord teas not in the wind ; and after the wind 
an earthquake ; but the Lord ivas not in the earth- 
quake: and after the earthquake a fire; but the 
Lord was not in the fire : and after the fire a still 
small voice!" I. Kings xix. 11, 12. When the 
pride of the heart is laid low, when the activity of 
human reasoning is quieted, when the soul is re- 
duced to a state of silent subjection in the presence 
of its Creator, then is this " still small voice" intel- 
ligibly heard, and the word of the Lord, as it is in- 
wardly revealed to us, becomes " a lamp" unto our 
" feet," and a " light" unto our " paths." Here it 
may not be improper to remark, that in order to 
maintain this state of humble and quiet dependence 
upon God, the habit of a frequent retirement from 
the common occupations of life is of great use and 
importance. Nevertheless, such a frame of mind 
may be preserved, even when we are engaged in 
the pursuits of business. Watchful christians are 
taught to live with a heart subjected before the Lord, 
and with an eye ever directed towards him in real 




48 ON THE PERCEPTIBLE INFLUENCE 

simplicity. While such is their condition, the true 
guide to peace will not forsake them. When they 
turn to the right hand or when they turn to the left, 
a voice shall still be found to follow them, saying, 
" This is the way, walk ye in it" If, however, there 
are persons (as I believe there are) of real piety, 
who sincerely desire to follow the guidance of their 
Lord and Master, and yet have not learned to dis- 
tinguish as they would wish to do, the internal mani- 
festations of his Holy Spirit, let them not be unpro- 
fitably discouraged. Let them rather pursue their 
course in humble reliance on the mercy of God, and 
let them cultivate the animating hope, that, as they 
are preserved in dedication to the divine will and 
grow in grace, they will gradually become better ac- 
quainted with the word of the Lord within them, 
and will be comforted, in a greater degree, with the 
light of his countenance. See Isa. 1. 10. 

Secondly, with regard to the fruits which these 
opposite influences respectively produce. The sug- 
gestions of the human imagination in matters of re- 
ligion, as they prevail over us when we are in a 
state of restlessness and confusion, so when they 
are followed they confirm and aggravate that con- 
dition. While they tend only to the elevation of 
self, and to the gratification of the eager desires of 
the unsubdued mind, they may indeed inflame us 
with a false and misdirected zeal, but they can nev- 
er soften the obdurate heart, bring the restless mind 
into stillness, or truly pacify the troubled con- 
science. On the contrary, the sure effect of obe- 
clience to the " still small voice" of our Divine Mas- 



AND GUIDANCE OP THE SPIRIT. 49 

ter in the soul, is quietness, tenderness, humility, 
true sanity of mind, and substantial peace. 

But we may extend our views farther, and con- 
sider the consequences of these respective influ- 
ences, not only on the inward frame of the mind, 
but on the outward conduct and conversation of the 
man. Here the difference between the fruits of two 
distinct and even opposite principles becomes com- 
pletely manifest. The imaginations of the heart of 
man, when not subdued and rectified by the power 
of divine grace, are continually prone to evil, and 
however Satan may transform himself into an " an- 
gel of light" and conceal his operations under the 
cover of a religious profession, and even of a sin- 
cere enthusiasm, his fruits will still be fruits of 
darkness and unrighteousness ; and those who in the 
heat of their own spirits commit themselves, with- 
out reserve, to so delusive and perilous a guidance, 
will not fail to make shipwreck, in many particulars, 
of the great moral principles of the gospel of Christ, 
Again and again will they be found breaking the 
law of the Redeemer, — the law of kindness, chari- 
ty, order, submission, gentleness, integrity, purity, 
or peace. And truly the end of such a course is 
sorrow. " Behold, all ye that kindle a fire, that com- 
pass yourselves about with sparks : walk in the 
light of your fire, and in the sparks that ye have 
kindled. This shall ye have of mine hand, ye shall 
lie down in sorroiv ;" Isa. 1. 11. 

On the other hand those who follow the Lord's 
Spirit will assuredly be found to bear the fruits of 
the Spirit, which are " love, joy, peace, long-suffer- 



50 ON THE PERCEPTIBLE INFLUENCE 

ing, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, tempe- 
rance. Against such there is no law;" Gal. v. 22 ? 
23* That there are very many persons not of our 
religious body who are endeavouring to follow the 
Spirit as a perceptible guide, there can be little 
doubt. Nevertheless there will, I trust, be no im- 
propriety in my making an appeal, in connexion 
with the present branch of my argument, to the ob- 
servation and experience of those persons to whom 
this work is principally addressed. However dis- 
couragement may often overtake us through the 
misconduct of unsound brethren, my young friends 
with myself have undoubtedly enjoyed a very 
easy opportunity of observing the life and con- 
versation of many persons, who profess that the in- 
ternal manifestations of the Holy Spirit are their 
rule of life ; and who by a long and tried course of 
patience, submission, and self-denial, have full}' 
evinced the sincerity of their profession. Now we 
are certainly well aware, and we need not, I think, 
fear to acknowledge, that the character and deport- 
ment of such persons is distinguished for sobriety 
and substantial excellence, and that however varied 
they may be as to their situations, their talents, and 
their gifts, they resemble one another in this main 
characteristic — that they are fulfilling the law of 
love, and living a life of piety and usefulness. 

Our observation of others may suffice to convince 
us that when the great principle of religion to which 
I am now adverting, is conscientiously and strictly 
maintained, these pure and lovely fruits are invari- 
ably produced. And further, as far as we ourselves 



AND GUIDANCE OF THE SPIRIT. 51 

also, who are younger in religious growth, have 
been enabled to order our conversation by the same 
rule, and to " mind the same thing," our own expe- 
rience will oblige us to confess that the Shepherd 
of Israel, as he is thus followed, is a safe guide, and 
that he would ever lead us away from the snares of 
the enemy, from the vanities and sensualities of the 
world, and from the pride of life, into humility, chari- 
ty, and pure morality. Finally, may we not with 
gratitude acknowledge, that in observing the latter 
days and death of many faithful servants of the Lord 
who once occupied a place among us, we have been 
furnished with ample evidence, that the end of a 
life passed in obedience to the inward monitions of 
the Spirit united with a dependence on Christ as 
an all-sufficient Saviour, is quietness and peace? 

That God is able to illuminate the souls of men 
with the immediate visitations of spiritual light the 
most incredulous metaphysician will not venture to 
deny. On the other hand, we may readily accede 
to the principle laid down by the celebrated Locke, 
that we can entertain no reasonable confidence in 
any supposed inward spiritual illumination, farther 
than as we are furnished with evidence that such 
illumination proceeds from God; See Essay on the 
Human Understanding, Book iii. ch. 19. Now, that 
the perceptible influence of the Holy Spirit on the 
soul proceeds from God, the christian enjoys satis- 
factory evidence — first, in the declarations of Scrip- 
ture that such an influence shall be bestowed upon 
him — and secondly, in the practical results into 
which it leads. " He that believeth on the Son of 



52 ON THE PERCEPTIBLE INFLUENCE 

God hath the witness in himself;" I. John, v. 10. 
He brings his own sensations to the test of expe- 
rience. He knows the tree by its fruits. 

This general argument will be found to derive 
confirmation from a view which we may now brief- 
ly take of some main particular characteristics in 
the practical operation of this perceptible guidance. 
In discussing those characteristics, I must of course 
be understood as appealing to the experience of my 
readers ; and happy should I be were my observa- 
tions to serve as way-marks to any of them, by 
which they may learn more accurately to distin- 
guish the spirit of truth from the spirit of error. 

1. The light of the Spirit of Christ in the heart 
tends to the humiliation of man : for, in the first 
place, it reveals to him his many iniquities, and af- 
fords him the clearest evidence that he is fallen, 
corrupt, and prone to evil; and, in the second place, 
as he endeavours to follow this light, he is again 
and again instructed in the lesson, that his own 
strength is utter weakness, and that he can do no 
good thing of himself. Besides, it is ever to be re- 
membered, that divine grace in the soul is not only 
light, but power. It softens all that is hard, and 
levels as with the dust all that is lofty within us ; 
those persons, therefore, who are truly subject to 
it, will of necessity become tender, contrite, and low- 
ly of heart. The operation of the same principle 
tends moreover to the exaltation of Christ. That 
light and that power which convince us of our own 
iniquities, lead us also to form a right estimate of 
the character and merits of our Lord: and while in 



AND GUIDANCE OF THE SPIRIT. 53 

our endeavours to follow his guidance, we are 
brought to the humbling discovery of our own weak- 
ness and worthlessness ; we are taught that in this 
weakness, the strength of Christ is made perfect ; 
and we cannot but extol that Saviour, who supports 
us in every difficulty, arms us against every temp- 
tation, restores our souls, and leads us in the paths 
of righteousness for his name's sake. 

2. Since fallen man is corrupt and perverse ; since 
his natural inclinations, if not checked in their 
operation, will infallibly lead him, under some form 
or other, into the vanities of the world and the sins 
of the flesh ; and since it is the great purpose of the 
christian system, to recover kim from this lost con- 
dition, and to bring him into conformity with the will 
of God, we may rest assured that the true voice of 
Christ in the heart will conduct us in the path of 
daily self-denial And such undoubtedly is the ex- 
perience of all those persons who have committed 
themselves to the guidance of this inward Monitor. 
They find that he leads them through the " strait 
gate" and by the " narrow way," and that in order 
to follow him, it is indispensably necessary for them 
to resist their own desires, and to mortify those per- 
verted selfish principles, which constitute the cha- 
racter of the natural man. 

When our Lord declared that if any man would 
come after him, he must take up his cross and fol- 
low him — (the cross being the instrument employ- 
ed for the infliction of capital punishment) — he 
might perhaps intend to impress upon his immedi- 
ate followers, that in order to be his disciples, they 



54 ON THE PERCEPTIBLE INFLUENCE 

must be willing even to die for his name's sake. Such 
a doctrine was well adapted to the circumstances in 
which these persons were placed : but in that spi- 
ritual sense of which our Lord's words are obvious- 
ly eapable, it will be found to coincide with the ex- 
perience of every real christian. None can " fol- 
low the Lamb whithersoever he goeth," without 
being conformed to his sufferings — without bearing 
about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus — 
without dying themselves to the lusts of the world, 
the sins of the flesh, and the pride of life. " We 
are buried with Christ by baptism unto death, that 
like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the 
glory of the Father, pren so we also should walk 
in newness of life;" Rom. vi. 5. But let us not fear 
this death, or shrink from the cross of Christ! He 
who imposes it in order to our highest good, will 
render it more than tolerable ; and it is the enemy 
of our souls, who magnifies in our view the pain 
and difficulty of bearing it. To the dependent, 
simple, yet decided christian, the yoke of Jesus be- 
comes easy and his burthen light. 

3. Those who resist and grieve their heavenly 
Guide, and quench that delicate flame of light with 
which he condescends to visit them, gradually en- 
velop themselves in gross darkness. They become 
incapable of the instructions of their divine Monitor, 
and thus they continually form a lower and a lower 
standard respecting right and wrong. On the con- 
trary, the Spirit of Christ, as it is closely followed 
and scrupulously obeyed, rectifies, illuminates, and 
quickens, the faculties of the conscience. Our per- 



AND GUIDANCE OF THE SPIRIT. 55 

ceptions of good and evil become more and more 
just and lively, and at the same time our apprehen- 
sion of spiritual things is enlarged and strengthened. 
Thus is accomplished in the experience of his fol- 
lowers the promise of the Lord Jesus, that " unto 
every one that hath shall be given ;" Matt. xxv. 29. 
"The path of the just is as the shining light, that 
shineth more and more unto the perfect day ;" 
Prov. iv. 18. 

4. Since the inward manifestations of divine light 
in the soul, if attended to, lead invariably into the 
practice of christian virtues; and since those vir- 
tues are clearly described and enjoined in the Holy 
Scriptures (especially in the New Testament ;) it 
is plain that these two practical guides to righteous- 
ness will ever be found in accordance with one 
another. The law written in the book, and the law 
written in the heart, have proceeded from the same 
Author: the only standard of both these laws is the 
will of God ; and the former corresponds with the 
latter, as the image in the mirror corresponds with 
its original. It ought, however, to be remarked 
that the written law, for the most part, consists in 
general directions. Now the inward manifestations 
of the Spirit of Christ, while they confirm the prin- 
ciples on which those general directions are found- 
ed, will instruct us how to apply them in our daily 
walk, and under all the various circumstances and 
exigencies of life. For example, the outward law 
declares, "thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself." 
The inward law will not only inculcate the same 
rule, but will point out to the obedient followers of 



56 ON THE PERCEPTIBLE INFLUENCE 

Christ, in what manner, and on what occasions, this 
love is to be brought into action. 

5. It is worthy, in the last place, of particular ob- 
servation, that the monitions of the Holy Spirit with- 
in us direct an exact, comprehensive and unmixed, 
obedience to the will of God. How imperfect is 
the obedience of those persons, who acknowledge 
only the written law T , and who in the application of 
that law to the various incidents and occasions of 
human life, are accustomed to seek no other direc- 
tion than that of their ow T n reason, and to depend 
upon no other strength than that of their own wills! 
While in the secret of their hearts there dwells a 
spirit of rebellion against that Lord who w T ould lead 
them into self-mortification ; how readily can they 
plead excuses and urge the doctrine of expediency 
in opposition to the dictates of truth! Notwithstand- 
ing their professed regard to the Scriptures, how 
soon does their moral sense degenerate, and how 
easily do they learn to "call evil good, and good 
evil," to put "darkness for light, and light for dark- 
ness," to put " bitter for sweet, and sweet for bit- 
ter!" Isa. v. 20. In such unsound professors of re- 
ligion, there is no full coming out — no effectual 
emancipation — from that which is evil in the sight 
of God. 

It may, moreover, be questioned whether some- 
thing of the same kind of imperfection may not be 
detected in the experience even of seriously-minded 
christians, who, while their dependence is mainly 
placed on the grace of God, are not fully believing 
in the light of Christ, as it is inwardly revealed to 



AND GUIDANCE OF THE SPIRIT. 57 

the soul. I am, in some measure, aware of the 
depth of human iniquity, and know how difficult it 
is to escape from its secret influence; but I believe 
that christians would not be so much perplexed as 
they often are with a sense of imperfection and sin 
in the performance of their various religious duties, 
were that performance less of themselves and more 
of God; were it less dictated by the activity of their 
own minds, and derived with greater simplicity 
from the fountain of all good. Great as is our own 
infirmity, deep as is our natural defilement, it is 
certain that the inward Guide, of whom we are 
speaking, is entirely holy, and he still upholds to his 
followers the very highest standard of action — " Be 
ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is 
in heaven is perfect" He commands them to be of 
clean hands, and to refrain completely from every 
thing which his own light has made manifest to be 
evil. He admits of no excuses ; he sacrifices his 
law to no apparent expediency ; he is satisfied with 
no mixed obedience ; and when he calls us into ac- 
tive duties, and more especially into religious ser- 
vices, he is ever ready to assist us in our humble 
endeavour to offer unto the Lord an " offering in 
righteousness" — even &pure offering. 

Such are the tests and such are the fruits of the 
perceptible guidance of the Holy Spirit in the soul. 
In reverting to the course of argument adopted in 
the present disquisition, the reader will recollect 
that the doctrine of such perceptible guidance rests 
upon the authority of Scripture ; being clearly de- 
clared by the prophet Jeremiah, by the apostles 

ii 



58 ON THE PERCEPTIBLE INFLUENCE 

John and Paul, and by our Lord himself — that the 
dictates of the Spirit, which lead into truth, are to- 
tally distinct from the dictates of the human imagi- 
nation, which lead into enthusiasm ; — that the two 
principles are to be distinguished, first, by the mode 
of their operation, and, secondly, by the fruits which 
they produce— that the dictates of the Spirit operate 
in a gentle manner on the waiting and prostrate soul 
— that the fruits of the Spirit are the " peaceable 
fruits of righteousness" — that these fruits afford a 
substantial evidence of the divine origin of that 
guiding principle which leads to the production of 
them — and, lastly, that this general argument is 
greatly strengthened when we come to trace some 
particular characteristics in the practical operation 
of the principle in question ; for as it is closely fol- 
lowed, it is ever found to lead to the humiliation of 
men, and to the exaltation of Christ ; to the denial 
of self, and to the bearing of the cross; to the in- 
crease of moral and spiritual light; to the confirma- 
tion and right application of the divine law as it is 
recorded in the Holy Scriptures, and to a very exact 
fulfilment of that law. 



Before I dismiss the subject of the perceptible 
guidance of the Spirit, it is necessary for me, some- 
what more distinctly than I have hitherto done, to 
advert to the outward religious points which dis- 
tinguish the Society of Friends. The principal of 
them mav be enumerated as follows : their disuse 



AND GUIDANCE OP THE SPIRIT. 59 

of all typical observances in the worship of God : 
their refusal to recognize any ministry in connexion 
with divine worship, which they do not conceive to 
be dictated by the immediate influence of the Holy 
Spirit : their acceptance of the public ministry of 
females : their objection to human ordination, and 
also to the paying or hiring of preachers: their 
practice of silent worship : their abstaining from all 
warfare, and from the use of oaths : their plainness 
in speech, behaviour, and apparel. In the preced- 
ing chapter has been advanced the sentiment 
(which I believe to be held by many persons with- 
out as well as within the pale of the Society) that 
these peculiarities are of an edifying tendency, and 
that the maintenance of them by Friends is calcu- 
lated to promote the spiritual welfare of the church 
at large. It has also been observed that this can 
be true, only in so much as thej r arise out of the 
principles of the divine law : and I have stated that 
it was my intention, in the future discussion of 
them, to direct my remarks chiefly to the proof of 
this very point — that they arise out of the principles 
of the divine law. 

Now the first argument to be adduced in sup- 
port of this position, is immediately connected with 
the doctrine unfolded in the present chapter. If 
the question be addressed to us why we consider it 
to be our duty to adopt our several religious pecu- 
liarities, we may answer, because we believe we have 
been led into them by the Spirit of truth. The casual 
observer indeed may attribute our maintenance of 
ihem to the mere force of habit and education, and 



60 ON THE PERCEPTIBLE INFLUENCE 

certainly there is much reason to apprehend that 
with too many amongst us they rest upon no better 
foundation. Nevertheless, you whom I am now ad- 
dressing, can scarcely fail to be aware, that with real 
Friends, the adoption and punctual observance of 
such a line of conduct, are not only matters of hon- 
est principle, but are truly the consequences of 
obedience to their inward Guide. It is a fact which 
the world can scarcely be expected to notice, but 
which is well known to every experienced Quaker, 
and will not be denied by any persons who possess 
an intimate knowledge of the Society, that the very 
same guiding and governing principle which leads 
the sincere-hearted and serious amongst Friends 
into the practice of universally acknowledged chris- 
tian virtues, leads them also into these peculiarities. 
I am not asserting that such would necessarily be 
the experience of all persons who endeavour to fol- 
low the guidance of the Spirit ; nor would I in any 
respect venture to set limits to the sovereignty, 
freedom, scope, and variety, of divine operation. I 
assert only that this is our own experience. Such, 
therefore, being our experience, we cannot but de- 
rive from it a strong and satisfactory conviction, 
that our religious peculiarities appertain to the law 
of God ; for it is certain that the Spirit of truth, by 
whose influence alone men are made truly right- 
eous, and brought into conformity with the divine 
will, will never lead any of the followers of Jesus 
into a course of conduct which is not founded on 
the principles of that law. The inward manifesta- 



AND GUIDANCE OF THE SPIRIT. 6 1 

tions of the Spirit are in themselves the lata of God 
written on the heart 

I may now proceed to confirm this general argu- 
ment by more particular observations on the seve- 
ral peculiarities already enumerated; and in en- 
deavouring to trace the connexion of each of them 
with the law of God, I shall appeal to the principles 
of that law as they are unfolded in the New Testa- 
ment. For I consider that it is only under the new 
and more spiritual dispensation, that the divine law 
is revealed to us in all its purity and in all its com- 
pleteness. 



CHAPTER IV. 



ON THE DISUSE OF ALL TYPICAL RITES IN THE WOR- 
SHIP OF GOD. 

Although it is almost universally allowed among 
christians that when the New Covenant was esta- 
blished in the world, by the death of Christ, the 
ceremonial observances of the Jewish law were 
abolished, there are two religious rites of a very 
similar description, the maintenance of which is 
still very generally insisted upon, as necessary to 
the edification and true order of the church of 
Christ. These rites are baptism with water and 
that participation of bread and wine which is usual- 
ly denominated the sacrament of the Lord's supper. 
So great is the virtue and efficacy attributed to 
these ceremonies, that they are considered by 
very many christians to be especial means of grace, 
or mediums through which grace is conveyed to the 
soul, and not a few theologians both ancient and 
modern, appear to have entertained the extraordi- 
nary opinion, that the rite of baptism, more espe- 
cially, is of indispensable necessity in order to 
man's salvation. 

On the other hand I am informed, that in some 
parts of the continent of Europe, there are small 
societies of pious christians b} r whom water-baptism 
and the ceremony of the Lord's supper are entirely 



ON THE DISUSE OF ALL TYPICAL RITES, &C. 63 

disused ;* and that such is the fact in the Society of 
Friends is very generally understood. It is our be- 
lief that we have been led out of the practice of 
these rites by the Spirit of truth ; that we could not 
recur to them without grieving our heavenly Moni- 
tor ; and that in fact they are not in accordance with 
the entire spirituality of the gospel dispensation. 

In order to explain our principle on the subject 
with clearness, I must remark in limine that the 
ceremonies in question, as now practised among 
christians, must be considered as constituting a part 
of their system of toorship : for they are, in the first 
place, in the strictest sense of the terms, religious 
rites performed in supposed obedience to the com- 
mand of the Almighty ; and, secondly, they are em- 
ployed in immediate connexion with the more di- 
rect and generally with the public acts of divine 
worship. Such being the state of the case, the ob- 
jection of Friends to the use of these ordinances 
will be perceived to have its foundation in a princi- 
ple of acknowledged importance, and one which is 
clearly revealed in the New Testament, that under 
the christian dispensation, the worship of God is 
not to be formal, ceremonial, or typical, but simply 
spiritual. 

This principle was declared in a clear and forcible 
manner by Jesus Christ himself. When the woman 
of Samaria, with whom he condescended to converse 
by the well of Sychar, spake to him of the worship 
observed by the Jews at Jerusalem, and by the Sa- 

* This is the case as I understand with the Inspires in Germany, and 
with the Malakans in South Russia. 



64 ON THE DISUSE OP ALL TYPICAL 

maritans on Mount Gerizmi, our Lord answered. 
"Woman, believe me, the hour cometh when ye 
shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem 
worship the Father — The hour cometh, and now 
is, when the true worshippers shall worship the 
Father in spirit and in truth; for the Father seeketh 
such to worship him. God is a spirit : and they that 
worship him, must worship him in spirit and in truth;" 
John iv. 21 — 24. In this passage of our Lord's dis- 
course, there is an evident allusion to two separate 
and distinct systems of worship, appertaining re- 
spectively to two different dispensations ; and it is 
equally clear that the change was then about to take 
place from one of these to the other ; that the one 
was about to be abolished — the other to be estab- 
lished. The system of w r orship about to be abol- 
ished was that which the Jews were accustomed to 
practice at Jerusalem, and which the Samaritans had 
endeavoured to imitate on their favourite mountain. 
Now every one who is acquainted with the records 
of the Old Testament, must be aware that this was 
a system of worship chiefly consisting in outward 
ceremonies ; in figurative or typical ordinances. 
The greatest nicety of divine direction accompanied 
the institution of these various rites which were a 
" figure for the time then present," and which stood 
only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and 
carnal ordinances, imposed on the Israelites until 
the time of reformation ; Heb. ix. 10. But now that 
time of reformation was at hand, and the law was 
pronounced by the great Mediator of the New Co- 
venant, that men were henceforward to worship the 



RITES IN THE WORSHIP OF GOD. 60 

Father in spirit and in truth. The new worship 
which was thus to distinguish Christianity, was to 
be in spirit ; because it was to consist, not in out- 
ward rites of a formal and ceremonial nature, but in 
services dictated by the Spirit of the Lord, and in 
direct communion of the soul with its Creator. It 
was to be in truth ; not simply as arising out of a 
sincere heart — a description which might apply 
with equal force to the abolished worship of the 
Jews — but because it was to consist in substantial 
realities. It was to be carried on, not through the 
old medium of types and figures, but by the appli- 
cation to the heart of the great and essential truths 
of the gospel dispensation ; for the type was now to 
be exchanged for the antitype ; the figure for the 
thing figured; the shadow for the substance.* Such 
then and such exclusively is the true character of 
christian worship. 

Here it may be proper to remark, that we ought 
by no means to disparage the forms and ceremonies 
of the Jewish law, as connected with the covenant 
to which they appertained. We cannot forget that 
this ministration of worship was appointed by the 
Almighty himself, nor can we refuse to acknowledge 
that it was, in its own time, glorious. For although 
these ceremonies could not make him that did the 
service perfect as pertaining to the conscience, yet 
was the whole system of which they formed a part, 
perfectly adapted by divine wisdom to the condition 

* A similar explanation of our Lord's expressions respecting christian 
worship, will be found in the commentaries of the following biblical critics 
— Theophylact, Calvin, Jac. Cappellus, Grotius, Rosenmuller, Whitby, Gill, 
Scott, and Doddridge. 

I 



6(3 ON THE DISUSE OF ALL TYPICAL 

of the Israelites, and the ritual law served a purpose 
of high importance to the ultimate promotion of the 
cause of righteousness. To that purpose we have 
already alluded : it was to typify, prefigure, and in- 
troduce the better, purer, and more glorious, minis- 
tration of the gospel : for it is precisely in reference 
to these ceremonial observances, that the apostle 
describes the Jewish law as being "a figure for the 
time then present ;" and as " having a shadow of 
good things to come ;" Heb. ix. 9, x. 1. 

But important as was the purpose thus answered 
by the establishment and maintenance of the cere- 
monial law, it was one of a merely temporary nature. 
When the Messiah was come — when he had reveal- 
ed the spiritual character of his own dispensation — 
when he had died for our sins — when he had risen 
again for our justification — when he had shed forth 
on his disciples the gifts and graces of the Holy 
Spirit — then w T ere all the types fulfilled ; then was 
the law of types abolished. " There is verily" saith 
the apostle " a disannulling of the commandment 
going before, for the weakness and unprofitableness 
thereof; for the law made nothing perfect, but the 
bringing in of a better hope did, by the which we 
draw nigh unto God;" Heb. vii. 18, 19. Again, 
" Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he 
saith, sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but 
a body hast thou prepared me : in burnt offerings 
and (sacrifices) for sin thou hast had no pleasure : 
then said I, Lo ! I come, (in the volume of the book 
it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God. Above, 
when he said sacrifice and offering and burnt offer- 



RITES IN THE WORSHIP OF GOD. 67 

nigs and offering for sin thou wouldst not, neither 
hadst pleasure therein ; which are offered by the 
law ; then said he, lo ! I come to do thy will, O God* 
He taketh away the first, that he may establish the 
second ;" Heb. x. 5 — 9. The system of types and 
sacrificial ordinances therefore being "taken away," 
and the system of spiritualities being by the coming 
of Christ established, we are no longer to worship 
the Father through the intervention of a human 
priesthood, of formal ceremonies, or of typical in- 
stitutions, but solely through the mediation of the 
High Priest of our profession, and under the imme- 
diate and all sufficient influences of the Holy Ghost. 
Although the shadows of the old law formed an es- 
sential part of the Jewish dispensation, they were no 
sooner imposed upon christians than they became 
unlawful, and assumed the character of an un- 
righteous bondage and of " beggarly elements ;" 
Gal. iv. 9. " Wherefore, if ye be dead with Christ* 
from the rudiments of the world," says the apostle 
Paul to his Colossian converts, "why, as though 
living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances ?" 
Col. ii. 20, comp. 14, Eph. ii. 14—16. 

Having thus endeavoured to unfold the nature of 
that spiritual worship of God which the Lord Jesus 
enjoined on his followers, and to show how clearly 
it was distinguished from the old ceremonial wor- 
ship practised among the Jews, I may now take up 
the more particular consideration of the rites of 
Baptism, and the Lord's Supper. These rites have 
both received the name of " sacraments," — a word 
which properly signifies oaths, and formerly desig- 



«5? & ■ 



68 ON THE DISUSE OF ALL TYPICAL 

nated more especially the oaths of allegiance re- 
quired of Roman soldiers ; but which, as applied to 
these religious ceremonies, may be considered as 
denoting '* sacred and obligatory ordinances." 

It is imagined by many persons that the ordi- 
nances, thus held to be of a sacred and binding cha- 
racter in the church, are but little connected with 
those Jewish institutions, which are on all hands al- 
lowed to have been abolished by the coming and 
sacrifice of the Messiah ; that they are on the con- 
trary (with the single exception of the baptism of 
John,) of an origin exclusively christian. On the 
supposition of the correctness of this opinion, it is 
nevertheless undeniable that these rites, as they are 
now observed, are of precisely the same nature as 
the ceremonies of the ancient Jews. They are ac- 
tions indifferent in themselves, employed as religious 
forms and as a constituent part of a system of divine 
worship 5 and like those Jewish ceremonies, they 
are mere types or shadows, representing in a figu- 
rative manner certain great particulars of christian 
truth. It is plain, therefore, that the principle on 
which these practices are founded appertains to the 
old covenant; and equally plain (in the opinion of 
Friends) that such practices are not in accordance 
with that entirely spiritual worship, which is de- 
scribed as so distinguishing a feature of the dispen-r 
sation of the gospel. 

Although, however, the rites of baptism and the 
supper have been so generally adopted, as apper- 
taining to their own religious system, by the pro- 
fessors of faith in Jesus. I cannot consider it true in 



RITE3 IN THE WORSHIP OF GOD. 69 

any accurate sense of the terms, that they are of 
christian origin. On the contrary, there is every 
reason to believe, that before the coming of Christ 
these practices actually formed a part of the custo- 
mary Jewish ritual. 

First, with respect to baptism in water. It is no- 
torious, that according to the ceremonial law of the 
Jews there could be no removal of uncleanness, no 
purification either of things or persons, without ab- 
lution in water. On various occasions the perform- 
ance of that ceremony was appointed by the divine 
law, and on many others it was observed on the au- 
thority of Rabbinical tradition. Now these " divers 
carnal washings," to which the Jews were so much 
accustomed as a ritual means of purification, are in 
the Greek Testament described as baptisms, Heb. 
ix. 10, Mark vii. 4, Luke xi. 38; and it is certain 
that the principal of them were effected by dipping 
or immersion. Before going into the temple to 
minister or officiate, the priests of the Jews were 
accustomed to dip their whole body in water, and 
the house in which this ceremony was performed, 
was denominated "the house of baptism;" Cod. Jo- 
ma, c. 3, quoted by Hammond on Matt. iii. Persons 
of every description who had contracted any bodily 
pollution, were strictly enjoined by the law to wash 
or bathe their flesh, see Levit. xv. 5, 8, 11; and the ; 

learned Jews determine, that if the least part of the 
surface of the body was not wetted by the dipping, 
the purification was incomplete. In the Greek ori- 
ginal of the book of Ecclesiasticus, a person purified 
after touching a dead body, is described as one 






70 ON THE DISUSE OF ALL TYPICAL 

dipped or baptized; ch. xxxiv. 25. Judith, when on 
the point of performing an action which she erro- 
neously deemed to be of a highly religious nature, 
" washed, (or, as in the Greek, baptized) herself in a 
fountain of water:" ch. xii. 7. The Jew not only 
washed, but, on particular occasions, dipped himself 
before he sat down to meat ; Mark vii. 4, Luke xi. 
38, Greek text. Now although the baptism prac- 
tised by John and by the apostles did not in all its 
circumstances resemble those Jewish washings to 
which I have now adverted, yet it was precisely 
similar to them in that main particular of immersion 
in water, and in all these instances this immersion 
was typical of one and the same thing — that is to 
say, of a change from a condition of uncleanness to 
one of comparative purity. But the Jewish dipping 
from which the baptism, first of John and after- 
wards of the apostles, principally took its rise, and 
of which those baptisms may indeed be considered 
as mere instances, was the dipping on conversion. 
We read in the book of Exodus that three days be- 
fore the delivery of the law, "the Lord said unto 
Moses, Go unto the people and sanctify them to- 
day and to-morrow, and let them wash their clothes;" 
in pursuance of which command, w r e are afterwards 
informed that " Moses went down from the mount 
unto the people, and sanctified the people; and 
they washed their clothes-" Exod. xix. 10, 14. — 
From the comparison of other similar passages, il 
appears probable that the washing of clothes here 
mentioned was a baptism or immersion in water of 
the whole body together with the apparel; compare 



RITES IN THE WORSHIP OF GOD. 71 

Levit. xi. 25, xiv. 47, xv. 5, &c. Such is the ex- 
press judgment of the Rabbinical writers, and they 
further determine that this baptism was command- 
ed and observed, on the principle that the Israelites 
were then about to be introduced to a new religious 
covenant or dispensation ; — that, in other words, it 
was a baptism of conversion to a purer and more 
excellent system of worship, faith, and conduct, than 
that to which they had hitherto been accustomed ; 
Maimonides Issure Biah, cap. 13. Lightfoot Hor. 
Heb. in Matt. iii. 6. 

Hence as it is declared by Maimonides and other 
Jewish writers, arose the baptism of proselytes, or 
of the Gentile converts to the religion of the Jews* 
It was a principle well understood amongst that 
people, that as it ivas with the Israelite, so it should 
be ivith the proselyte; see Num. xv. 15; and accord- 
ingly, as the Israelites had entered into their cove- 
nant by "circumcision, baptism, and sacrifice," the 
same introductory rites were considered indispen- 
sable to the proselyte. According to the traditions 
of the Rabbins, circumcision, baptism, and sacrifice 
were enjoined on every male, and the two latter on 
every female, convert from heathenism to the Jew- 
ish faith. It was a trite axiom, as Lightfoot informs 
us, that no man could be a proselyte until he was 
circumcised and baptized. In the Babylonish Ge- 
mara, (part of the Talmud) we find the following 

* The proselytes were of two descriptions: proselytes of the gate y who 
forsook idolatry and worshipped the true God, but did not conform to the 
Jewish law, and proselytes of justice, who went further and embraced the 
whole legal and ceremonial system. It was the latter only who were bap- 
tized, 



12 ON THE DISUSE OF ALL TYPICAL 

disputation. " The proselyte who is circumcised and 
not baptized — what are we to say of him? Rabbi 
Eliezer says, Behold he is a proselyte; for so we 
find it was with our fathers (the Patriarchs) that they 
were circumcised and not baptized. He that is bap- 
tized and not circumcised — what are we to say of 
him? Rabbi Joshua says, Behold he is a proselyte, 
for so we find it is with females. But the wise men 
say, Is he baptized and not circumcised? or is he 
circumcised and not baptized ? He is no proselyte 
until he be circumcised and baptized" Jevanioth 
fol. 46, 2. Lightfoot Hor. Heb. in Matt. iii. 6. 

Maimonides, who was a man of extraordinary 
sense and learning, and was deeply versed in the 
laws and customs of the ancient Jews, has stated a 
variety of particulars respecting the baptism of 
proselytes. It appears that about three days after 
circumcision, the convert to Judaism was conduct- 
ed during the day time, to a confluence of waters, 
whether natural or artificial, sufficiently deep to ad- 
mit of entire immersion. Having been placed in 
the water, he was instructed in various particulars 
of the Jewish law, by three scribes of learning and 
authority who presided over the whole ceremony ; 
and when these doctors had received his promises 
of a faithful adherence to the Jewish institutions, 
and had fully satisfied themselves respecting his 
motives and condition of mind, he completed the 
immersion of his whole person by dipping his head. 
He then ascended from the water, offered his sacri- 
fice to the Lord, and was thenceforward considered 
as a complete Jew and as a new or regenerate 



RITES IN THE WORSHIP OP GOD. 73 

man; Issure Biah, cap. 13, 14. Wall on Infant Bap-* 
tism, p. xliv. Selden de Synedriis lib. i. cap. 3. 

I am aware that the existence of the rite of pro- 
selyte baptism, before the christian era, is disputed 
by some of the learned, on the ground that such a 
rite is not specifically mentioned either in the Old 
Testament or in the most ancient uninspired writ- 
ings of the Jews; but this omission is very far from 
being sufficient to prove the negative ; and the doubt 
which it occasions, appears to be very greatly out- 
balanced by positive evidences in favour of the an- 
tiquity of the practice. It seems necessary shortly 
to glance at these evidences. 

1. The Jewish writers who make mention of the 
baptism of proselytes, expressly describe it as an 
ordinance practised among their countrymen at a 
date long prior to the christian era. Thus it is said 
in the Talmud, that Jethro the father-in-law of 
Moses was baptized as a proselyte; Tract. Repudii, 
Hammond on Matt. iii. From Maimonides we learn 
that the baptism of proselytes was practised from 
age to age* after the Israelites themselves had been 
initiated into their covenant in the days of Moses ; 
and again he makes mention of the proselytes in 
the time of David and Solomon, as of persons ivho 
had been baptized; Issure Biah cap. 13. 

2. There was a marked resemblance in several 
leading particulars between the baptism of pro- 
selytes, as described in the Talmud and by Maimo- 
nides, and the baptism practised by John and the 

* nnnV 



74 ON THE DISUSE OF ALL TYPICAL 

early teachers of Christianity. The baptism of the 
proselytes was a complete immersion, and was ap- 
pointed to take place in a confluence of waters. 
The baptism of John and of the christians is gene- 
rally allowed to have been of the same character. 
" John baptized in iEnon near to Salim, because 
there teas much water there" John iii. 23 ; and when 
the Ethiopian was to be baptized, we read that he 
and Philip went down or " descended into the wa- 
ter," and afterwards that they " came up out ofihe 
water;" Acts viii. 38, 39. It has indeed been re- 
marked that, as the proselyte dipped his own head, 
he might be considered as baptizing himself, where- 
as the convert to Christianity was baptized by the 
minister who converted him, and the disciples of 
John were baptized by that prophet. But I appre- 
hend the supposed difference in this respect is mere- 
ly imaginary; for although the proselyte plunged 
his own head in conclusion of the rite, he might 
properly be described as being baptized by the per- 
sons who placed him in the water and who arranged 
the whole ceremony. Accordingly I observe that 
the Jews speak of "baptizing" their proselytes, 
just as christians make mention of " baptizing" their 
converts.* Again — during the act of baptism the 
proselyte was instructed and made to stipulate for 
himself by the scribes; Selden de Syned. lib. I. cap. 
iii. p. 785: that the same circumstances now attend 



* " Even as they circumcise and baptize proselytes, so do they circum- 
cise and baptize servants who are received from Gentiles, &C.5" Maim. Is- 
sure Biah, cap. 13. " When a proselyte is received he must be circumcis- 
ed, and when he is cured they baptize, him in the presence of two wise 
men, &c. ;" Talmud Babyl. Mass. Jevamothfol.47. 



RITES IN THE WORSHIP OF GOD. 75 

the rite of baptism as practised among christians 
is well known, and that they have been from very 
early times the accompaniments of that ceremony 
is generally allowed; see Macknight and others on 
I. Pet. iii. 21. Again — when the proselyte was bap- 
tized, the rite was frequently administered not only 
to himself but to his family. So also it appears to 
have been with the early baptism of the christians: 
we read, that Lydia was baptized with her house- 
hold; that Paul baptized "the household of Stepha- 
nas;" and that, when the jailer at Philippi became 
convinced of the truth of Christianity, he and " all 
his" partook together of the same ceremony; Acts 
xvi. 15, 33, 1. Cor. i. 16. Gemara Babyl. Chetuh. c. 
i.fol. 11, 8fc. Wall, p. xlix. Again — the proselyte, 
who had entered into covenant by circumcision, bap- 
tism, and sacrifice, was considered as a new man, 
or to adopt the language of the Jews, as "a child 
new born;" Gemara, Jevamoth, c. iv. foL 62, 1. 
Maim. Issure Biah cap. 14. Wall p. lvii. and of this 
new birth or introduction to a better and purer faith, 
immersion in ivater was evidently used as the expres- 
sive sign. So it is notorious that the genuine con- 
vert to the faith of Christ is ever represented in the 
New Testament as one regenerate or born again, 
and baptism, as employed by John and the apostles, 
was a type or representation of this regeneration. 
These points of resemblance, between the proselyte 
baptism of the Jews and the baptism of the chris- 
tians, are so important and so striking as to render 
it nearly indisputable that the one baptism was bor- 
rowed from the other. Since therefore it is altoge- 



76 ON THE DISUSE OF ALL TYPICAL 

ther incredible that the Jews should borrow one of 
the leading ceremonies from the christians whom 
they depised and hated, there can be little reason- 
able doubt that the baptism of John and the chris- 
tians was derived from the proselyte baptism of the 
Jews, and that, of course, the latter was of a date 
anterior to Christianity. 

3. Our Saviour's discourse with Nicodemus is 
considered (and I think with justice) to contain an 
allusion to the baptism of proselytes ; for he there 
describes conversion under the figure of a second 
birth — a birth of " ivater and of the spirit." Here 
there is a precise accordance with the known Jew- 
ish doctrine respiting proselytism, and after having 
thus treated of that doctrine and applied it in a spiri- 
tual sense, our Lord adverts to the want of intelli- 
gence displayed by Nicodemus on the subject, as 
to a surprising circumstance ; " Art thou a master in 
Israel, and knotoest not these things ?" 

4. Although the baptism of proselytes is no where 
expressly mentioned in the Old Testament, it was 
the natural and indeed necessary consequence of 
the admitted principle of the Jewish law, that un- 
clean persons of every description were to be puri- 
fied by washing in ivater, and of the custom which so 

generally prevailed amongst the ancient Jews of 
effecting this washing by immersion. On whatever 
occasion the rite of baptism was employed, — whe- 
ther as a preparation for religious service, or for the 
removal of uncleanness, or as a type of conversion 
to a holier faith— -whether it was enjoined on the 
High Priest, or on the leper, or on the proselyte 



RITES IN THE WORSHIP OF GOD. / i 

from heathenism, or on the disciple of John, or on 
the convert of the apostles, — it was I believe in all 
cases a rite of 'purification. Thus we find that the 
baptism of John excited a disputation between him 
and the Jews on the subject of purifying, John iii. 
25: thus Paul was exhorted by Ananias to be bap- 
tized (or as in the Greek to baptize himself) and 
to wash away his sins, Acts xxii. 16 : and thus in 
apparent allusion (although in a spiritual sense) to 
the rite of baptism, the same apostle describes his 
own converts as washed and sanctified, I. Cor. vi. 
11, comp. Eph. v. 26, Heb. x. 22, &c. Now it is 
certain that at the christian era the Jews considered 
the Gentiles to be unclean persons, so that they 
were not permitted to associate with them or to eat 
in their company ; see Acts x. 28, comp. John iv. 9, 
&c. Hence therefore it must have followed as a 
matter of course that no Gentile could become a 
Jew — could become clean himself, or fitted for as- 
sociation with a clean people — without undergoing 
the rite of baptism. 

Such are the positive evidences and plain reasons 
which appear to prove, in a very satisfactory man- 
ner, the antiquity of the Jewish rite of baptism on 
conversion, and which confirm the opinion of Ham- 
mond, Selden, Lightfoot, Wall, and other learned 
writers, that this ceremony was perfectly familiar to 
the Jews, before the incarnation of our Lord. Ac- 
cordingly we may observe, that, when John " bap- 
tized in the wilderness and preached the baptism 
of repentance, (or conversion) for the remission of 
sins." his doctrine was very far from being strange 



78 ON THE DISUSE OF ALL TYPICAL 

or surprising to his hearers, nor did they evince the 
least difficulty in submitting themselves to the ordi- 
nance. On the contrary, multitudes pressed around 
him for the purpose, " and there went out to him," 
says the evangelist, "all the land of Judea, and they 
of Jerusalem, and were all baptized of him in the 
river of Jordan, confessing their sins ;" Mark i. 4, 5. 

It was the office of the Baptist to proclaim the 
approach of that heavenly kingdom — that more per- 
fect dispensation — for which the pious among the 
Jews were so anxiously looking ; and the faith into 
the profession of which he baptized, was faith in 
the coming Messiah, the long expected ruler of re- 
stored and renovated Israel. " John, verily," said 
Paul, " baptized with the baptism of repentance, 
saying unto the people, that they should believe on 
him which should come after him, that is, on Christ 
Jesus ;" Acts xix. 5. On the ground of his being 
either the Christ himself, or Elias the expected fore- 
runner of the Christ, no objection could be taken to 
his baptism by the Pharisees who came to dispute 
with him ; for in either of these characters he would 
be the authorized minister of a new and purer faith, 
and as a matter of course a baptizer. It was be- 
cause of the declaration of John that he waswof the 
Christ — that he was not Elias — that he was not that 
prophet, and for that reason exclusively, that the 
Pharisees addressed the question to him, " Why 
baptizest thou then ?" John i. 25. 

And so it was also with the disciples of Jesus. As 
John baptized on conversion to a faith in the Mes- 
siah to come, so they baptized on conversion to n 



RITES IN THE WORSHIP OF GOD. 79 

faith that Jesus was the Messiah. Both John and 
the apostles were engaged in the work of convert- 
ing — in making disciples to a new system of faith 
and conduct, to a holier law and to a more spiritual 
dispensation — and therefore, on a well known Jew- 
ish principle, and in conformity with an acknow- 
ledged Jewish practice, they respectively baptized 
their converts in water. 

Secondly, with respect to the " Lor 'd*s sapper" 
It may be doubted whether this supper, as it was 
observed by the primitive christians, could justly 
be considered as a direct ceremonial ordinance. 
But upon the supposition that the apostles and their 
companions, like more modern christians, were ac- 
customed to practise it as a religious rite and as a 
part of their system of divine worship, such an in- 
stitution must be regarded as immediately connect- 
ed with the Jewish Passover. The lamb eaten at 
the Passover and the bread broken and wine pour- 
ed forth in the christian Eucharist were equally in- 
tended as types, and they were types of the same 
event — the death and sacrifice of Christ. The two 
ceremonies, therefore, may be looked upon as the 
same in point of principle. But it is more especial- 
ly to our present purpose to remark, that the break- 
ing of the bread and the pouring forth of the wine, 
together with the blessing and giving of thanks, 
which distinguish the ceremony of the Eucharist, 
actually formed a part of the ritual order to which 
the ancient Jews were accustomed, in celebrating 
the supper of the Passover. This fact is sufficient- 
ly evident from the narrations contained in the gos- 



80 



pels of 
pies, an 



ON THE DISUSE OF ALL TYPICAL 



our Lord's last paschal meal with his disci- 
d is fully substantiated on the authority of 
the Rabbinical writers, who, in their minute state- 
ments Respecting the right method of conducting 
that ceremonial Jewish supper, have explicitly di- 
rected the observance of these several particulars : 
see Extracts from the Talmud and Maimonides, in 
Lightfoot. Hot. Heb. in Matt. xxvi. 

Before we draw a conclusion from the facts now- 
stated, it! may be desirable briefly to review the for- 
mer parti of the argument. In explaining that great 
law of the New Covenant, that God who is a Spirit 
must ije worshipped in spirit arid in truth. I have 
adverted to the comparison so evidently instituted 
by Jestis Christ, when he pronounced the law in 
question, between the spiritual and substantial wor- 
ship thus enjoined on his own followers, and that 
which tyas customary among the ancient Samaritans 
and Jews. The two systems of worship are de- 
scribed as completely distinct; the one was about to 
die away, the other to be established. The old 
worship consisted principally in the performance of 
typical rites. The new worship was of a precisely 
opposite character. The ordinance was to cease ; 
the shadow was to be discontinued ; the substance 
was to pe enjoyed; and in the total disuse of ancient 
ceremonial ordinances, communion was now to take 
place between the Father and the souls of his peo- 
ple, only through the mediation of Jesus Christ, and 
under the saving influences of the Spirit of Truth. 

On the supposition, therefore, that the ceremo- 
nies of water baptism and the Eucharist are truly 



RITES OP THE WORSHIP OF GOD. S 1 

of christian origin, yet, being shadows and types and 
nothing more, they perfectly resemble the ordi- 
nances of the Jewish law, and plainly appertain to 
the principle of the old covenant. But further — on 
a fair examination of the history of these ceremo- 
nies, we find that they not only appertain to the 
principle of the old covenant, but were practices 
observed on that principle by the Jews themselves, 
before the introduction of the christian revelation. 
Thus, then, it appears that they actually formed a 
part of the ritual system of Judaism itself: and, 
since it is on all hands allowed that the whole of 
that ritual system, although observed for many years 
after the death of Jesus by most of his immediate 
disciples, is nevertheless null and void under the 
christian dispensation, we appear to be brought to 
a sound conclusion, that in connexion with the wor- 
ship of christians, the ceremonies in question are 
rightly disused. 

That in this view of the subject there is much of 
reasonableness and of consistency with the leading 
characteristics of Christianity, will scarcely be de- 
nied by an} 7 persons who entertain a just view of 
the spirituality of true religion. But, on the other 
hand, it is pleaded that the New Testament contains 
certain passages, in which the practice of these rites 
is not only justified but enforced, and which in fact 
render such practice obligatory upon all the follow- 
ers of Christ. 

In order to form a sound judgment whether this 
notion be correct or erroneous, it will be necessary 
for us to enter into a somewhat detailed examina- 



82 ON THE DISUSE OF ALL TYPICAL 

tion of the passages in question, and of several 
others in which baptism and the dominical supper 
are either alluded to, or directly mentioned. Pre- 
viously, however, to entering on such an examina- 
tion, I may venture upon one general observation ; 
namely, that if, on philological principles, any such 
passages are found fairly to admit of either a literal 
or a spiritual interpretation — and if it be allowed, 
(as I think it must be, for the general reasons 
already stated) that the latter is far more in harmo- 
ny than the former, with the admitted character of 
the christian dispensation — in such case we are jus- 
tified by the soundest laws of biblical criticism, in 
adopting the spiritual and in dropping the literal 
interpretation. 

I shall commence with baptism. 

The first passage to be considered, in reference 
to this subject, is that in which the apostle John has 
described our Lord's conversation with Nicodemus 
on the doctrine of regeneration. " Verily, verily, I 
say unto thee," said our Saviour, " except a man be 
born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." — 
Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be 
born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter in- 
to the kingdom of God ;" John iii. 3 — 5. I cannot 
deny, that, when our Lord thus spake of being born 
of water, his words contained an allusion to the 
practice of water baptism. It has been already re- 
marked that the doctrine on which he thus insisted 
in a spiritual sense, and respecting which the igno- 
rance of Nicodemus, that master in Israel, was ad- 
verted to in so pointed a manner, was one, which, 



RITES IN THE WORSHIP OP GOD. 83 

in its merely external bearings, was perfectly fami- 
liar to the Jews. The proselyte who had forsaken 
heathenism and adopted the Jewish religion was 
considered as one new-born, and of this new birth 
his baptism in water appears to have been the ap- 
pointed sign. The new birth of the true christian 
— that indispensable preparation for his entrance 
into the kingdom — is therefore fitly illustrated by 
the circumstances of the baptized proselyte. But 
though it is sufficiently evident that our Lord al- 
luded in this passage to the Jewish rite of baptism 
on conversion, it appears to be equally clear that 
he made that allusion in a merely figurative and spi- 
ritual sense. Those who would prove, that to "be 
born of water" in this passage literally signifies to 
be outwardly baptized, defeat their own purposes 
by proving too much. If the possibility of an en- 
trance into the kingdom of heaven, which a multi- 
tude of moral sins does not preclude, is precluded 
by the infraction of a merely positive precept, and 
by the omission of a rite in itself absolutely indiffer- 
ent, it may almost be asserted that the system of 
Christianity is overturned, and that the gospel falls 
to the ground. To impose on an obscure and am- 
biguous expression a sense which thus contradicts 
so many general declarations made by the sacred 
writers, and which is directly opposed to the fun- 
damental doctrines of the New Testament, is ob- 
viously very inconsistent with the laws of a just 
and comprehensive criticism. Nothing, one would 
think, but absolute necessity would compel any 
reasonable critic to the adoption of such an alter- 
native- 



84 ON THE DISUSE OF ALL TYPICAL 

But in point of fact the expressions thus employed 
by Jesus are capable of being otherwise interpreted 
with the greatest propriety. Numerous passages 
might be adduced from both the old and new Tes- 
taments, in which the carnal washings or baptisms 
of the Jews are alluded to in a merely spiritual sense, 
and in which more particularly we find the grace of 
the Spirit — that sacred influence given to men for 
their conversion and sanctification — described under 
the obvious figure of " water ;" See Ps. li. 2, 7, Isa. 
i. 16, Jer. iv. 14, Ezek. xxxvi. 25, John iv. 10, vii. 
38, 1. Cor. vi. 11, Eph. v. 26. According therefore 
to this known scriptural phraseology, " to be born 
of water" may be properly understood as signifying 
to be converted, cleansed, and introduced to a new- 
ness of life, by the Spirit of God. Such is the in- 
terpretation of these words, which is adopted not 
only by Friends, but by various pious writers and 
commentators on Scripture, w r ho have no connexion 
with that Society ; See Scott, Jl. Clarke, Gill, fyc. 
This interpretation is by no means precluded by 
the addition — " and of the Spirit;" for our Lord's 
words may here be understood not as relating to 
two things, but as representing one thing, first by 
means of a figure, and afterwards without that figure. 
Such a mode of expression is not unusual in the 
sacred writings. Just in the same manner the 
apostle Paul describes his own converts, first as 
"washed" and immediately afterwards as "sancti- 
fied" by the Spirit of God, I. Cor. vi. 11 ; and when 
John the baptist declared that Jesus who was 
ooming after him, should " baptize with the Holy 



RITES IN THE WORSHIP OF GOD. 85 

Ghost and with fire," he probably employed both 
those terms to represent one internal and purifying 
influence. 

That spiritual interpretation of our Lord's ex- 
pressions which on critical principles is thus plainly 
admissible, is moreover confirmed by the immediate 
context. Jesus says to Nicodemus, (according to 
the common English version) " Except a man be 
born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God ;" 
and again he says, " Except a man be born of water 
and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom 
of God." It is, I think, obvious that the latter of 
these sayings is nothing more than an explanatory 
repetition of the former, and that, in point of mean- 
ing, they are to be regarded as equivalent. Now it 
appears, from the comparison of the other passages 
in the writings of this apostle, in which the same 
adverb is used, that the term rendered born again, 
although denoting that birth which was in fact a 
second one, ought rather to be rendered " born from 
above ;" See chap. iii. 31. xix. 11, 23, comp. Matt, 
xxvii. 51, Mark xv. 38, James i. 17, iii. 15, 17. So 
Schleusner in lex. It follows therefore that to be 
" born from above" and " to be born of water and 
the Spirit" are expressions which have the same 
meaning. But " to be born from above" can surely 
signify nothing less than to undergo that true regen- 
eration — that real change of heart, which is indeed 
" from above," because it is effected only by the 
Spirit and power of the Almighty. Again, after 
speaking of this heavenly birth " of water and the 
spirit," our Lord immediately drops his figurative 



86 ON THE DISUSE OP ALL TYPICAL 

allusion to baptism, and contrasts the moral change, 
of which alone he is speaking, with the birth of the 
flesh, " That which is born of the flesh, is flesh ; and 
that which is born of the Spirit, is Spirit ;" ver. 6. 

When the apostle Paul described the Corinthian 
christians as persons who were " washed," " sancti- 
fied," and " justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, 
and by the spirit of God," I. Cor. vi. 11 ; and when, 
on another occasion, he made mention of the whole 
church as sanctified and cleansed " with the washing 
of water by the word," Eph. v. 26 ; he probably de- 
rived his figurative language from the well known 
rite of baptism in water ; and yet the impartial critic 
will scarcely deny that the doctrine which he couched 
under that language related solely to the operations 
of divine grace. But there is in the writings of this 
apostle another passage, which, while it plainly il- 
lustrates our Lord's doctrine respecting a birth " of 
water and of the Spirit," affords additional inform- 
ation on the subject of true christian baptism. " For 
we ourselves also," says the apostle to Titus, " were 
sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving 
divers lusts and pleasures, living: in malice and envy, 
hateful, and hating one another* But after that the 
kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man 
appeared, not by ivorks of righteousness which we 
have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, 
by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the 
Holy Ghost; which he shed on us abundantly, 
through Jesus Christ our Saviour;" Tit. iii. 3 — 6. 
Here, as in John iii. 3 — 5, there is a very obvious 
allusion to that outward rite of baptism on conver- 



RITES IN THE WORSHIP OP GOD. 87 

sion, which was understood among both Jews and 
christians to be the sign of regeneration or of the 
second birth: and yet where is the enlightened 
christian who will refuse to allow, that under these 
figurative expressions the apostle is promulgating 
a doctrine entirely spiritual ? The " washing of re- 
generation" which is here distinguished from all our 
own works of righteousness, attributed solely to the 
merciful interposition of God our Saviour, and des- 
cribed as a divine operation efficacious for the sal- 
vation of souls, can surely be nothing else than the 
baptism of the Spirit, or, to adopt the apostle's own 
words of added explanation, — " the renewal of the 
Holy Ghost" 

Another passage of no very dissimilar import is 
found in the epistle to the Hebrews ; an epistle which 
I deem to be rightly attributed to the same inspired 
author. "Having, therefore, boldness," says the 
apostle, " to enter into the holiest by the blood of 
Jesus, by a new and living way which he hath con- 
secrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his 
flesh ; and having a High Priest over the house of 
God ; let us draw near with a true heart, in full as- 
surance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from 
an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure 
water;" ch. x. 19 — 22. The "pure water" men- 
tioned in this passage is explained by some critics 
as signifying the water of an outward baptism, but 
a little examination may serve to convince the can- 
did enquirer, that such an interpretation is incon- 
sistent with the whole scope of the apostle's argu- 
ment. Every one who attentively peruses the ninth 



88 on the disi/se op all typical 

and tenth chapters of this admirable epistle, will 
observe that Paul is there unfolding the great prin- 
ciples or doctrines of the christian dispensation, as 
they were prefigured by the circumstances of the 
Jewish ceremonial law. The ritual appointed to be 
observed on the great day of atonement, as described 
in Levit. xvi. is that part of the Jewish institution 
to which he is particularly adverting. On that day, 
the High Priest was accustomed to enter into the 
Holy of Holies or inner sanctuary of the temple, 
after a careful washing or bathing of his own body. 
After this purification he offered up a bullock and 
a goat as an atonement for sin, and sprinkled the 
blood of the victims on the mercy-seat and on the 
altar. These and similar ceremonies (among which 
he particularly mentions "divers baptisms") are 
treated on by the apostle as denoting the spiritual 
realities of the New Covenant, and when he proceeds 
to describe those realities, it is from the ordinances 
of Judaism that he borrows his figures. As the 
mercy-seat and the altar on the great day of atone- 
ment, and the people themselves on other occasions, 
were sprinkled with the blood of bulls and of goats, 
so are the hearts of christians to be sprinkled from 
an evil conscience by the blood of Christ; and as 
the flesh of the priest, of the unclean person, or of 
the proselyte, was bathed in pure water, so is our 
body or natural man, to be cleansed and renewed 
by the purifying influence of the Holy Ghost. The 
" sprinkling of the heart" and the " washing of the 
body" are expressions equally metaphorical. The 
one denotes our deliverance from guilt ; the other 



RITES. IN THE WORSHIP OF GOD* 89 

our purification from sin. The one is the applica- 
tion of the sacrifice of Christ ; the other is the bap- 
tism of his Spirit. So Calvin, Gill, and other Com- 
mentators. 

Such are the passages in the New Testament 
which contain indirect allusions to baptism in water ', 
and in which the circumstances of that rite are figu- 
ratively adverted to, in descriptions relating exclu- 
sively to the work of grace. I shall now proceed 
to consider certain other passages of the same gene- 
ral import, in which the verb " baptize" or the sub- 
stantive " baptism" are actually introduced. In the 
passages already cited, the baptism of the Spirit is 
represented by its characteristic circumstances. In 
those to which I am now about to invite the reader's 
attention, it is called by its name ; it is described 
as a baptism. 

The first passages to be adduced of the descrip* 
tion now alluded to, are those which contain the 
declarations of John, the forerunner of Jesus, re- 
specting the baptism of the Messiah, as contrasted 
with his own : one of these declarations is recorded 
by Matthew, Mark, and Luke, and the other by the 
apostle John. " I indeed baptize you with water 
unto repentance," cried the Baptist to the Pharisees 
and Sadducees, and to the whole multitude by whom 
he was surrounded, comp. Luke iil- 16, " but he that 
cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I 
am not worthy to bear : he shall baptize you with 
the Holy Ghost, and with fire: whose fan is in his 
hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor, and 
gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn 

M 



90 ON THE DISUSE OF ALL TYPICAL 

up the chaff with unquenchable fire;" Matt. iii. IK 
12. Luke has recited the Baptist's declaration in 
nearly the same words, ch. iii. 16, 17; and Mark 
records it simply as follows : John " preached, say- 
ing, There cometh one mightier than I after me, 
the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop 
down and unloose. I indeed have baptized you 
with water ; but he shall baptize you with the Holy 
Ghost ;" ch. i. 8. The baptism with fire, mentioned 
in Matt. iii. 11, and Luke iii. 16, is explained by 
some commentators solely of the punishments to be 
inflicted by the Son of God on the unbelieving Jews 
and on the wicked in general. That this expression 
contains some allusion to punishment, is in my opi- 
nion in some degree probable from the following 
verse : but the manner in which it is introduced to 
notice, in immediate connexion with the baptism of 
the Holy Ghost, affords strong reason to believe 
that this fiery baptism represents more 'particularly 
the enlightening, inflaming, and purifying operation 
of the Spirit, upon the hearts of men. One thing 
is described, as Grotius observes on Matt. iii. 1I ? 
by two different modes of expression — an observa- 
tion which derives confirmation from Mark i. 8, in 
which passage the baptism attributed to Christ, is 
that of the Holy Ghost alone.* The other decla- 
ration made by the Baptist to the same effect, is 



* Such is the view taken of the M fiery baptism" here mentioned, by 
many learned and able critics : for example, Munster, Erasmus* Vatablus, 
Clarius, Lud. Cappcllus, and Calvin. Grotius I have already mentioned; 
See Critic. Sacr. in he. An excellent exposition of Matt. iii. 11, will be 
found in the well known and justly valued commentaries of the late Tho- 
mas Scott. 



RITES IN THE WORSHIP OF GOD. 9 1 

related by the apostle John as follows : " And John 
bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending 
from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him, 
and I knew him not : but he that sent me to baptize 
with water, the same said unto me, upon whom 
thou shalt see the Spirit descending and remaining 
on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the 
Holy Ghost. And I saw and bare record that this 
is the Son of God;" ch. i. 32 — 34 Such is the con- 
trast drawn by John between his own baptism, and 
the baptism of Christ. The one is with water and 
merely external ; the other is with the Spirit and 
fire, internal and powerful. The one is the work 
of man, and, like the minister who practised it, is 
" of the earth, earthly :" the other is divine, the 
work of the eternal Son of God, who came from 
heaven, and "is above all;" John iiL 31. 

A precisely similar comparison was afterwards 
made by our Saviour himself. When he was on 
the point of quitting this lower world, the sphere of 
his humiliation, and was about to shed forth upon 
his disciples in freshness and abundance the gifts 
and graces of the Holy Spirit, he commanded them 
not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait there for 
the "promise of the Father;" for "John truly," 
said he, "baptized with ivater ; but ye shall be 
baptized with the Holy Ghost, not many days hence;" 
Acts i. 5. Although the immediate disciples of 
Christ were endowed with pre-eminent and extra- 
ordinar} T measures of the divine influence, it is al- 
ways to be remembered that the promise of the 
Father was to all in everv age who should believe 



02 ON THE DISUSE OF ALL TYPICAL 

in Jesus, Acts ii. 39 : we may conclude, therefore, 
that all in every age who should believe in Jesus 
were to receive, as well as the apostles themselves, 
the baptism of the Holy Ghost. Such, it is ex- 
pressly declared was the case with Cornelius and 
his family, Acts xi. 15, 16; and such undoubtedly 
must be the case with every christian, whether 
more or less gifted, who is converted and sanctified 
by the powerful influence of divine grace. Now 
the general doctrine to be deduced from the decla- 
rations thus made both by the Baptist and by our 
Saviour, may be explicitly stated in a few words. 
It is, first, that the baptism which properly apper- 
tained to the dispensation of John, and which dis- 
tinguished it from Christianity, was the baptism of 
water ; and, secondly, that the baptism which pro- 
perly appertains to Christianity, and which distin- 
guishes it from the dispensation of John, is the bap- 
tism of the Spirit. 

The baptism of the Spirit is expressly mentioned 
by the apostle Paul. When describing the union 
which subsists among all the living members of the 
church of Christ, he writes as follows: — "For as 
the body is one, and hath many members, and all 
the members of that one body, being many, are one 
body ; so also is Christ. For by one Spirit ive are 
all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or 
Gentiles, whether we be bond or free ; and have 
been all made to drink into one Spirit ;" I. Cor. xii. 
12, 13. Baptism with water, as adopted among the 
early christians, was nothing more than a sign of 
that conversion which introduced into the church of 



KITES IN THE WORSHIP OF GOD. 93 

Christ. The baptism of the Spirit here mentioned 
by the apostle, is that powerful and divine opera^ 
tion, which really effects such an introduction, and 
by which, therefore, all the believers in Christ are 
brought together and united as fellow members of 
the same body. 

Since this apostle has so frequently alluded to 
the work of the Spirit on the heart, under the figure 
of washing in water (as in I. Cor. vi. 11, Eph. v. 26, 
Tit. iii. 5, Heb. x. 22,) and since in the passage now 
cited he has plainly used the verb baptize in refer- 
ence solely to that internal work, there can be no 
critical impropriety in attributing to him a similar 
meaning on other occasions, when he makes use of 
the same verb or its derivative substantive, in a 
manner somewhat less precise and denned. The 
examples to which I allude are as follows ; — Know 
ye not that so many of us as were baptized into 
Jesus Christ were baptized into his death ? There- 
fore we are buried with him by baptism into 
death : that like as Christ was raised up from 
the dead by the glory of the Father, even so 
we also should walk in newness of life;" Rom. vi. 
3, 4. " In whom (that is in Christ) ye are circum- 
cised with the circumcision made without hands, in 
putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the 
circumcision of Christ: buried with him by baptism, 
wherein also ye are risen with him through the 
faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him 
from the dead f Col. ii. 11, 12. " For as many of 
you as have been baptized into Christ have put on 
Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is 
neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor fe- 



94 ON THE DISUSE OP ALL TYPICAL 

male : for ye are all one in Christ Jesus ;" Gal. iii. 
27, 28, comp. I. Cor. xii. 12, 13. I am aware that 
the plurality of commentators interpret these pas- 
sages as relating to an outward baptism. But for 
the general reason stated above, they are plainly 
capable of being understood in a spiritual sense ; 
and that we are correct in so understanding them, 
they will severally be found on examination to af- 
ford a strong internal evidence. In Rom. vi. 4, bap- 
tism appears to be described as the efficacious cause 
of our dying to sin and of our walking in newness 
of life. In Col. ii. 11, 12, to be buried and to rise 
with Christ in baptism, are mentioned in immediate 
connexion, and apparently represented as identical 
with being spiritually circumcised in putting off the 
body of the sins of the flesh ; and it is moreover de- 
clared that the good effects of this baptism — this 
redeeming influence — are produced in us by the 
faith of the operation of God. In Gal. iii. 27, those 
only are described as baptized into Christ who have 
actually put on Christ, or who, in other words, are 
invested with his character, comp. Rom. xiii. 14, 
Eph. iv. 24 ; and who are thus brought into a real 
unity with his members. Now the whole of these 
descriptions apply with the greatest accuracy to 
that baptism of the Spirit, to which Paul in other 
parts of his epistles has so frequently adverted, and 
they are, I think, as completely inapplicable to the 
mere outward rite of immersion in water. On a 
general view, therefore, of the passages in which 
the apostle makes any doctrinal allusion to this sub- 
ject, we may fairly conclude that the only baptism 



RITES IN THE WORSHIP OF GOD. 95 

of importance in his view, was that of the Spirit ; 
and that it was exclusively to this inward work that 
he intended to direct the attention of his readefs, 
when he expressed himself as follows : — " Therel is 
one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in 
one hope of your calling ; one Lord, one faith, W 
baptism ;" Eph. iv. 4, 5. 

A very lucid declaration on the same subject, rray 
be found in the writings of the apostle Peter. A'iev 
adverting to the events which happened in the dkys 
of Noah — " while the ark was a preparing, wherein 
few, that is eight souls were saved by water" — ttat 
apostle continues, " the like Jigure whereunto evm 
baptism doth also now save us (not the puttiii 
away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of 
good conscience towards God) by the resurrectio^ 
of Jesus Christ;" I. Pet. iii. 21. The common Em 
lish version of the first part of this verse is calculate* 
to produce an erroneous impression of the apostle's 
meaning. There is nothing in the original Greek 
which conveys the idea that christian baptism is a! 
"figure" The word rendered "the like figure" signi- 
fies, as is justly 7 " remarked by Schleusner, nothing 
more than that which is similar or corresponding. So 
Archbishop Newcome renders the apostle's words, 
" Jlnd what answereth to this (even) baptism doth 
now save us." I apprehend, however, that the 
Greek would be still more accurately rendered, "A 
corresponding baptism whereunto doth now save 
us."* We are informed by the apostle Paul that 
the Israelites, who were led by the cloud, and pass- 



96 ON THE DISUSE OF ALL TYPICAL 

ed through the sea, "were all baptized unto Moses 
in the cloud and in the sea;" I. Cor. x. 2. On a si- 
milar principle, I conceive Peter to insinuate that 
Noah and his family who were saved in the ark 
I* by water" underwent a baptism of their own. — 
By that baptism their natural lives were saved; and 
christians enjoy a corresponding baptism which ef- 
fects the salvation of their immortal souls. After 
drrwing this comparison between the baptism of 
Ncah, by which the life of the body was preserved 
anl the baptism of christians, by which eternal life 
is secured for the soul, the apostle proceeds still 
farther to determine his meaning by adding a defi- 
ntion, first, of that which this saving christian bap- 
tsm is not, and secondly, of that which it is. Ac- 
cordingly he informs us that it is not the putting 
way of the filth of the flesh — or, in other words, 
lot the immersion of the body in water; and that 
1 it is the answer (or stipulation) of a good con- 
science toward God. Here there is probably an 
allusion to the circumstances which attended the 
outward rite of baptism ; for whether the person 
baptized in water was the proselyte to Judaism, or 
the convert to Christianity, he was (as is generally 
allowed) instructed and interrogated during the 
course of the ceremony, and made to stipulate for 
his future conduct. But while the outward rite 
supplies the apostle with his figures and suggests 
his phraseology, he explicitly discards the sign, and 
insists only on the substance. The answer or sti- 
pulation of a good conscience is the result of a mo- 
ral change, of a real regeneration. This is the bap- 



RITES IN THE WORSHIP OF GOD. 97 

tism which the apostle here describes as distin- 
guishing Christianity and as saving the soul of the 
believer. Nor is it like the baptism of water, the 
work of man. Peter expressly informs us that it is 
" by the resurrection of Jesus Christ." It is effect- 
ed by the power of that Saviour who is risen from 
the dead — " who is gone into heaven and is on the 
right hand of God; angels and authorities and pow- 
ers being made subject unto him." 

With the exception of Mark xvi. 16, (a text pre- 
sently to be cited) I believe we have now examined 
the whole of the passages in the New Testament, 
which contain any doctrinal statement on the sub- 
ject of baptism. Now the reader will probably re- 
collect, that in the epistle to the Hebrews, which 
contains so noble an exposition of the entire spirit- 
uality of true religion, the " doctrine of baptisms" 
is mentioned as one of those elementary principles 
of truth, which were familiar even to the babes in 
Christ; Heb. v. 13, 14, vi. 2. Of the nature and 
principal features of that doctrine, the information 
of which we are in possession respecting the old 
baptisms of the Jews, together with the several 
passages of the New Testament which have now 
been considered, will enable us to form a sound and 
satisfactory estimate. Judging from the documents 
before me, I should say, that this well-known " doc* 
trine of baptisms" must have been nearly as follows : 
That, under the legal dispensation, u divers carnal 
baptisms" were observed by the Jews as rites of 
purification, Heb. ix. 10; that among those rites 
was numbered the baptism on conversion, a ceremo- 

If 



9B ON THE DISUSE OF ALL TYPICAL 

ny to which the Israelites themselves submitted on 
their original entrance into the covenant of the law, 
Exod. xix. 14; and which was afterwards invariably 
practised in the admission of the proselytes of jus- 
tice to the character and privileges of the native 
Jew, John iii. 5, 10 ; that under divine authority this 
baptism on conversion was applied by John to the 
peculiar purposes of his own ministry ; John i. 32 
— 34: that these ancient Jewish baptisms were 
severally effected by washing or immersion in water; 
that they were all figures of another and a better 
baptism, by which Christianity was distinguished 
from every preparatory dispensation — a baptism of 
which Christ is the Author, and his disciples in every 
age and country the objects ; that this true chris- 
tian baptism appertains not to the body but to the 
soul, and is effected entirely by the power of the 
Holy Ghost ; that by it we are regenerated or con- 
verted, sanctified and saved from sin ; and, finally, 
that without it, no man can find an entrance into 
the mansions of eternal rest and glory. 

We cannot fail to observe, that " the doctrine of 
baptisms," as it is thus unfolded on the authority of 
Scripture, is exactly in accordance with that great 
principle of the divine law, to which, in the prece- 
ding part of this chapter, we have so particularly 
adverted; namely, that under the last or christian 
dispensation, God is no longer to be worshipped 
through the old medium of ceremonies, shadows, 
and types, but simply and exclusively in spirit and 
in truth. 

Haying thus examined the doctrine of baptisms, 



RITES IN THE WORSHIP OF GOD. 99 

we may proceed to consider another passage of the 
New Testament, in which it is very generally 
imagined that the practice of water baptism is in- 
stituted as a christian ordinance, and imperatively 
enjoined on the ministers of Christ. Matthew con- 
cludes his gospel with the following narration of our 
Lord's last address to his eleven apostles: "And 
Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power 
is given unto you in heaven and in earth. Go ye 
therefore, and teach all nations, (or as in the Greek, 
" Going therefore, make disciples of all nations") 
baptizing them in the name (or "unto the name") of 
the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost : 
teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I 
have commanded you : and lo, I am with you alway, 
even unto the end of the world. Amen." Matt, 
xxviii. 18—20. 

That the participle " baptizing," as it is used in 
this passage, is capable, on common philological 
principles, of being interpreted in its literal sense, 
as relating to an outward immersion, it would be at 
once uncandid and useless to deny. That persons 
in all ages of the christian church who have been 
accustomed to regard that external rite as sacred, 
should adopt such an interpretation, can be no mat- 
ter of surprise. And that those ministers of the 
gospel, who in conscientious conformity with the 
words of Christ, according to their own view of them, 
continue the practice of baptizing their converts in 
water, are no proper subjects of blame or condem- 
nation, is, to my apprehension, equally evident. 
Nevertheless it ought to be observed that there is 



100 ON THE DISUSE OF ALL TYPICAL 

no mention made in the passage of water, nor any 
thing whatsoever in the terms used, which renders 
such literal interpretation imperative upon us. On 
the contrary, I am persuaded that a sound and im- 
partial view of the various collateral points which 
throw light on the true meaning of our Lord's in- 
junction, will lead us to a very different estimate of 
that meaning. 

Jesus commands his apostles to make disciples 
of all nations ; and in executing that high commission, 
it was to be their duty, as we learn from his subse- 
quent words, to baptize the persons whom they 
taught, unto the name of the Father, and of the Son, 
and of the Holy Ghost. Now the peculiar solem- 
nity of that parting moment, and the apparent im- 
probability that on such an occasion a merely exter- 
nal ceremony should be so prominently insisted on — 
the method so often employed by Jesus of convey- 
ing instruction and precept concerning spiritual 
things, in words which bore an outward allusion to 
the flesh* — the frequent occurrence of the terms 
" baptize" and " baptism" in the New Testament, 
and particularly in the discourses of Christ himself, 
in a sense purely metaphorical — the abolition under 
the new dispensation, of the whole Jewish ritual, 
and the substitution of a worship entirely spiritual — 
the evidence derived from so many other explicit 
passages of Scripture, in favour of the doctrine that 
the baptism of Christianity is the work of the Spirit 
only — the pointed manner in which Jesus himself, 
in a preceding part, as is most probable, of this very 

* See for example John iii. 5, iv. 14, 32, vi. 53, vii. 38. 



RITES IN THE WORSHIP OF GOD. 101 

conversation, contrasted that efficacious influence, 
the privilege of his own followers, with the water- 
baptism of John, Acts i. 5 — all these are collated 
circumstances which bear with no slight degree of 
force on the passage before us, and which when 
considered as a whole appear to afford substantial 
evidence that the baptism of which the use was thus 
prescribed to his apostles by the Redeemer of men, 
was simply and exclusively, a spiritual baptism. 

It is indeed true that the baptism of the Spirit is 
elsewhere attributed to Christ himself. Undoubt- 
edly it is a divine work, and he who properly causes 
it and carries it into effect, is one participating in 
the nature and attributes of God. But originating, 
as it ever must originate, with our divine Master, 
this baptism might nevertheless be administered by 
the instrumentality of his servants. Inasmuch as 
the apostles of Jesus Christ were enabled, through 
the efficacy of an inspired ministry, to turn away 
their hearers from idolatry and other sins, to intro- 
duce them to a state of comparative purity, and to 
convert them to the true faith ; insomuch did they 
possess the power to baptize,' in a spiritual sense, 
unto the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of 
the Holy Ghost. It appears to be on the same 
principle, that Christ is described by the apostle 
Paul as applying to his own church the baptism of 
the Spirit — as sanctifying and cleansing it "with the 
washing of water" — " by the ivord"* that is probably 



* The expression in the original Greek is not xoyoc, which sometimes 
signifies the essential Word of God, and is applied as a title to the Son 
himself; but £>■«*. 



102 ON THE DISUSE OF ALL TYPICAL 

by the ministry of the gospel ; Eph. v. 26, comp* 
Rom. x. 17, Eph. vi. 17. "The preaching of the 
cross" when prompted and dictated by the Holy 
Spirit, is often found to be " the power of God;" I. 
Cor. i. 18. The ministers of the gospel ought, how- 
ever, always to remember that they can apply the 
baptism of the Spirit, only through the power of 
their Lord and Saviour ; and, in their humble efforts 
to follow so sacred an injunction, they must derive 
their encouragement from that gracious promise 
with which it was accompanied — " Lo lam with you 
ahvay, even unto the end of the world" 

Upon the present point it only remains to be ob- 
served, that the observations now offered on Matt, 
xxviii. 19, 20, will be found to derive material sup- 
port from the parallel passage in the gospel of 
Mark ; " And he said unto them," writes that evan- 
gelist, " Go ye into all the world, and preach the 
gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is 
baptized shall be saved" fyc. ch. xvi. 15, 16. Here 
the baptism to which our Lord is described as ad- 
verting, is classed with saving faith. It is the bap- 
tism which saves f Now we are assured that the 
baptism which saves is " not the putting away of 
the filth of the flesh," nor any work of righteousness 
which we can perform for ourselves, Tit. iii. 5 ; it 
is that birth of water and the Spirit, which is "from 
above," and which prepares us for an entrance into 
the kingdom of heaven, John iii. 5 ; it is " the an- 
swer of a good conscience toward God, by the re- 
surrection of Jesus Christ," I. Pet. iii. 21; it is "the 
washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy 
Ghost;" Tit. iii. 5. 



RITES IN THE WORSHIP OP GOD. 103 

On a review of the various passages cited in the 
present chapter, many of my readers will probably 
agree with me in the sentiment, that there is no 
part of the New Testament in which the observance 
of baptism in water is either commanded or declared 
to be necessary. Such being the case, I know of 
nothing which remains to be pleaded in support of 
that ceremony as a part of the religious service of 
christians, but the example of the apostles. That 
many of the apostles were accustomed both before 
and after the ascension of Jesus to baptize their 
converts in water, is indeed rendered indisputable 
by certain passages in the Gospel of John and in 
the book of Acts. But this fact by no means affords 
any sufficient evidence that the practice of a similar 
rite is universally imperative on the ministers of 
Christianity. The entire spirituality of the new dis- 
pensation — the great principle that God was no 
longer to be served by the intervention of sacerdo- 
tal and typical institutions, but only through the 
mediation of the Son, and under the influence of 
the Holy Spirit, was very gradually unfolded to 
these servants of the Lord. It is notorious that 
many of them adhered with strictness to a great 
part of the Jewish ritual long after it was abrogated 
by the death of Christ; and even on the Gentile 
converts, they enjoined an abstinence from things 
strangled and from blood (that is from the blood of 
animals) no less imperatively than from the sin of 
fornication ; Acts xv. 29. It is true that after they 
had ceased to recommend circumcision to the Gen- 
tiles, they continued to baptize them in water. But 



104 ON THE DISUSE OF ALL TYPICAL 

the reason of this distinction is plain: namely, that 
circumcision was the sign of an entrance into the 
covenant of the law, but that baptism, although a 
Jewish practice, and observed on the principles of 
Judaism, was the type of conversion to Christianity 
itself; and was therefore very naturally considered 
by the apostles as appropriate to the specific pur- 
poses of their own ministry. As long as they ob- 
served the ceremonies of Judaism in their own 
persons; as long as they continued unprepared for 
a full reception of the doctrine, that the ordinances 
and shadows of the law were now to be disused, 
and that God was to be worshipped in a manner 
entirely spiritual; so long would they, as a matter 
of course, persevere in the practice of baptizing 
their converts in ivater. Neither are we to imagine 
that in this respect the apostles acted in opposition 
to the will of their divine Master, who appears to 
have imposed upon them no sudden change of con- 
duct respecting ritual observances, but simply to 
have left them in possession of those great principles 
of spiritual religion, the tendency of which was to 
undermine all such observances at the very founda- 
tion, and thus in a gradual manner to effect their 
abolition. 

But there is another reason why the example of 
the earliest christian teachers affords no valid evi- 
dence that the practice of water-baptism is still 
incumbent on the ministers of the gospel of Christ — 
namely, that this example is not uniform. Its uni- 
formity is known to have been interrupted by two 
exceptions of peculiar weight and importance. The 



RITES IN THE WORSHIP OF GOD. 105 

exception which I shall first notice is that of the 
apostle Paul. That eminent individual, — who was 
not " a whit behind the chiefest apostles," and who 
had formerly been a " Pharisee of the Pharisees," 
and a zealot in the support of the Jewish law, — 
when he was once converted to the christian faith, 
was the first to throw off the bondage of that law ; 
and he presently excelled his brethren in his views 
of the spirituality of the gospel dispensation. Ac- 
cordingly we find that baptism with water was in 
his judgment by no means indispensable, or inse- 
parably connected with the duties of a christian 
minister. However it may be admitted, as a proba- 
bility, that his converts received baptism at the 
hands of other persons, it is certain that a great 
proportion of them were never baptized in water 
by the apostle himself. He expressly asserts that 
among the whole multitude of the Corinthians who 
had been converted by his ministry, he baptized 
none save Crispus and Gaius, and the household of 
Stephanas; I. Cor. i. 14 — 16. It is not, however, 
merely the apostle's personal abstinence from the 
use of the rite, which claims our attention in refe- 
rence to the present argument: it is rather the 
ground and principle on which he declares that he 
abstained from it. The practice of this ceremony 
in the christian church, is supported chiefly by the 
generally received opinion, that Christ commanded 
his apostles, when they make disciples of all nations, 
to baptize them with water; and that from the apos- 
tles this duty has descended to all rightly authorized 
ministers who, like them, are engaged in the pro- 



106 ON THE DISUSE OF ALL TYPICAL 

mulgation of christian truth. But Paul, highly fa- 
voured as he was as a minister of the gospel, and 
engaged far more extensively than any of his bre- 
thren in the work of making disciples of all nations, 
abstained to a very great extent, from the act of 
baptizing with water; and for this express reason; 
that he had received no commission to perform it : — 
" For Christ," said he, " sent me not to baptize, but 
to preach the gospel;" ver. 17. 

The other exception alluded to is one of still 
greater moment: it is that of the Divine Founder 
of our religion himself. The Lord Jesus Christ 
rendered in his own person a complete obedience 
to all righteousness, as it was observed under the 
law ; and therefore he submitted to the baptism of 
John. But his own converts who belonged to that 
spiritual institution, which he so frequently denomi- 
nates the "kingdom of heaven," (See Matt. xi. 11. 
&c.) he baptized not. Although he permitted his 
disciples to practise that ceremony, he abstained 
from it himself. This fact is noticed by the apostle 
John, who after stating that " the Pharisees heard 
that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than 
John," carefully adds, (for the prevention of error, 
no doubt, on so interesting a subject,) " though (or 
howbeit) Jesus himself baptized not, but his disci- 
ples ; John iv. 1, 2. Those preachers of the gospel, 
therefore, who consider it their duty, in conformity 
with the great fundamental law of christian worship 
to abstain from the practice of baptizing their con- 
verts in water, have the consolation to know that 
in adopting such a line of conduct, they are follow- 



RITES IN THE WORSHIP OF GOD. 107 

ing the example of him, who is on all hands allow- 
ed to have afforded us a perfect pattern. 

Since therefore water-baptism was a Jewish ce- 
remonial or typical observance ; since, under the 
new dispensation, the plan of divine worship is 
changed, and all such observances are by a general 
law abolished; since, in precise conformity with 
that law, the doctrine of baptisms," as unfolded in 
various passages of the New Testament, appears to 
attribute to Christianity only the baptism of the 
Spirit : since that particular passage in which the 
outward rite is supposed to be enjoined upon chris- 
tians, may, with the truest critical propriety be 
otherwise explained : and since the example of the 
first preachers of Christianity in favour of that cere- 
mony, arose out of peculiar circumstances, and was 
interrupted by two overpowering exceptions — I 
cannot but deem it undeniable that the Society of 
Friends are fully justified in their disuse of water- 
baptism. 



I may now proceed to the consideration of those 
parts of the New Testament which relate to the 
institution denominated the Lord's supper. 

In order to clear our ground respecting the na- 
ture and character of that ordinance, it is desirable 
in the first place to direct our attention to the tenth 
chapter of the first epistle of Paul to the Corin- 
thians — a chapter which contains a remarkable al- 
lusion to the Lord's supper, as it was observed by 



108 ON THE DISUSE OF ALL TYPICAL 

the early christians. It appears that some of the 
Corinthian converts had so far sacrificed their reli- 
gious consistency as to join the banquets of their 
heathen neighbours, and to feast with them upon 
meats which had been previously offered to the 
idols. Such was the unchristian practice which 
suggested to the apostle Paul the following reproof 
and exhortation ; " I speak as to wise men ; judge 
ye what I say. The cup of blessing which we bless, 
(or for which we give thanks) is it not a joint partici- 
pation in {Eng. Trans, "the communion of") the blood 
of Christ ? The bread which we break, is it not a 
joint participation in {Eng. Trans. " the communion 
of") the body of Christ ? For we being many are one 
bread, and one body: for we are all partakers of 
that one (or that same) bread. Behold Israel after 
the flesh ; are not they which eat of the sacrifices, 
joint participants in {Eng. Trans. " partakers of") 
the altar ! What say I then, that the idol is any 
thing, or that which is offered in sacrifice to idols 
is any thing ? But I say, that the things which the 
Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not 
to God: and I would not that ye should be joint 
participants in {Eng. Trans. " have fellowship 
with") devils. Ye cannot drink the cup of the 
Lord, and the cup of devils : ye cannot be partakers 
of the Lord's table, and the table of devils. Do we 
provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger 
than he ? I. Cor. x. 15 — 22. In reciting this passage 
the reader will perceive that I have ventured upon 
some slight alteration of the common English ver- 
sion. The word "communion" is properly defined 



RITES IN THE WORSHIP OF GOD. l09 

by Johnson, " a participation of something in com- 
mon ; and this, no doubt, is the sense in which it 
was here employed by our translators. I have ex- 
changed that word for "joint participation" merely 
for the purpose of showing the manner in which 
the true meaning of the original expression,* as it 
is here applied, is fixed by the use, in two other 
parts of the same passage, of the corresponding 
noun, rendered joint participants.^ 

On a comparison with certain parts of the follow- 
ing chapter, (hereafter to be noticed) it must in all 
faifness be allowed, that the bread broken and the 
cup of blessing, which the apostle here describes 
as a "joint participation in the body and blood of 
Christ," are the bread and the cup of wine which 
were eaten and drunk in a literal sense, at the sup- 
per denominated by the apostle himself, the LoroVs 
supper, ch. xi. 20. It appears then that those who 
ate and drank together of that bread and wine, were 
joint participants in the body and blood of Christ, 
on the same principle, and in the same sense, that 
the Jews who ate together of the sacrifices ordain- 
ed by the law, were joint participants in the altar, 
and the christians who united with idolaters in the 
eating of meats offered to false gods, were joint par- 
ticipants in devils. As no one imagines that these 
mixed companies of idolaters and christians united 
in eating the devils; or that the Jewish worshippers 
united in eating the altar, so it is altogether an error 
to suppose that the christian communicants are here 
represented by the apostle, as feeding on the body 

* Kouavtx -j- xoivuvot. 



1 10 ON THE DISUSE OF ALL TYPICAL 

and blood of Christ* When we compare the three 
cases together, the whole that we can gather from 
the apostle's description of the bread and wine is 
this: that, as the eaters of meats sacrificed to the 
idols were joint participants in those things which 
respected the service of devils, and as the Jews who 
ate the victims sacrificed under the law, were joint 
participants in those things which respected the 
altar ; so the christians, when they met to celebrate 
the Lord's supper, were joint participants in those 
things which respected the body and blood or the 
sacrifice of Jesus Christ. 

I have entered into this examination of the pas 
sage before us, not so much for the purpose of dis- 
proving the Roman Catholic doctrine of transub- 
stantiation, as in order to show that the apostle's 
words give no real countenance to the notion so 
generally entertained among protestants, that those 
who communicate in the rite of the Lord's supper, 
do thereby feed together, in a spiritual sense, on the 
body and blood of Christ. 

The declarations of this doctrine, unfounded as it 
appears to be on the authority of Scripture, are in 
the communion service of the church of England 
both frequent and striking. The " sacrament of the 
Lord's supper" is there denominated a "holy mys- 
tery" and a " banquet of most heavenly food." 
Thanksgiving is enjoined unto God " for that he hath 
given his Son our Saviour Jesus Christ, not only to 
die for us, but also to be our spiritual food and sus- 
tenance in that holy sacrament ;" and on another oc- 
casion this service teaches us, that when we receive 



RITES IN THE WORSHIP OF GOD. Ill 

that holy sacrament, then we spiritually eat the flesh 
of Jesus Christ and drink his blood ; then we dwell 
in Christ, and Christ in us : we are one with Christ, 
and Christ with us." 

By such language a mystical importance is at- 
tached to this outward rite, which appears to have 
no foundation in the original use of the ordinance, 
as a simple memorial of the death of Jesus. In 
these days of increasing light and spirituality, as we 
may justly esteem them, it is necessary to say but 
very little on this branch of our subject. Although 
the communicants in the rite of the Lord's supper 
may sometimes be permitted to " eat the flesh and 
drink the blood of the Son of man," no arguments 
need now be advanced to prove that this spiritual 
eating and drinking has no necessary connexion 
with any external ceremony ; and that in every time 
and place it may be the privilege of the humble 
christian, who lives by faith in the Son of God, and 
whose soul is subjected to the purifying yet sus- 
taining influence of his Holy Spirit; See John vi. 53, 
63. Neither will it be any longer disputed, that 
when persons of such a character meet in companies 
for the solemn purpose of worshipping the Father, 
they may, without any use of the outward ordinance, 
feed together, in a spiritual sense, on the body and 
blood of Christ, and experience the truest commu- 
nion with their Holy Head, and one with another 
in him ; see Matt, xviii. 20. 

Having premised these remarks on the apostle's 
description of the Lord's supper, we may hencefor- 
ward consider it in that more simple light in which 



112 ON THE DISUSE OF ALL TYPICAL 

alone I believe it to be regarded, in the present day, 
by many of those persons who observe it, namely, 
as an outward ceremony, constituting part of divine 
ivorship, and intended typically to represent and thus 
to bring into remembrance, the death and sacrifice 
of Christ ; and we may proceed to examine those 
passages of the New Testament which have given 
rise to the opinion so generally entertained by mo- 
dern theologians, that such a rite was ordained by 
our Saviour, and that the practice of it is universally 
obligatory on believers in Christ. The passages to 
which I have to refer, under this head, are only two 
in number. The first is in the gospel of Luke, who 
in describing the last paschal supper which Jesus 
ate with his disciples shortly before his crucifixion, 
writes as follows ; " And he (Jesus) took bread and 
gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, say- 
ing, ' This is my body which is given for you : this 
do in remembrance of me? Likewise, also, the cup 
after supper, saying, ' This cup is the New Testa- 
ment in my blood, which is shed for you;'" Luke 
xxii. 19, 20. 

The second passage alluded to, contains a decla- 
ration of the apostle Paul's, which fully confirms 
the particulars related by Luke. It appears that 
the Corinthian converts had so greatly abused the 
practice to which the injunction of Christ had given 
rise, that when they met together for the purpose 
of eating the Lord's supper in company, there was 
found among them a total want of order and har- 
mony, and many of them availed themselves of the 
opportunity thus afforded them, for the intemperate 



RITES IN THE WORSHIP OP GOD. 113 

indulgence of their carnal appetites; "For in eating" 
says the apostle, " every one taketh before other 
his own supper ; and one is hungry and another is 
drunken/' In order to correct habits of so disgrace- 
ful a character, Paul sharply reproves these Corin- 
thians and calls to their recollection the origin and 
object of the observance. " For I have received of 
the Lord," says he, " that which also I delivered 
unto you, that the Lord Jesus, the same night in 
which he was betrayed, took bread : and when he 
had given thanks, he brake it, and said, 4 Take, eat: 
this is my body, which is broken for you ; this do in 
remembrance of me? After the same manner also 
he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, ' This 
cup is the New Testament in my blood ; this do ye, 
as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me.' For 
as often," adds the apostle, " as ye eat this bread, 
and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till 
he come. Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, 
and drink this cup unworthily, shall be guilty of the 
body and blood of the Lord. But let a man exam- 
ine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and 
drink of that cup. For he that eateth and drinketh 
unworthily, eateth and drinketh condemnation to 
himself, not discerning the Lord's body ;" I. Cor. xi. 
23—29. 

It will be observed that in this address to the 
Corinthians, the apostle is not enjoining upon them 
the practice of celebrating the Lord's supper. The 
passage contains no command of the apostle's to 
that effect : it was intended solely to warn them 
against their abuse of that practice, and to explain 



114 ON THE DISUSE OF ALL TYPICAL 

to them its origin and true purpose. Accordingly 
lie briefly recites the circumstances which had given 
rise to it. The knowledge of these circumstances, 
it appears, he had " received of the Lord ;"* and the 

* For I have received of the Lord. 'Eya ya.% Trci^iXctGcv ctjto tov kv^iou. Ma- 
ny commentators assume from these words that the circumstances which 
the apostle here narrates, were communicated to him by an immediate and 
special revelation from Jesus Christ himself; and some writers have even 
imagined that this simple fragment of our Lord's history is to be numbered 
among those unutterabe mysteries (a^ta guy.*?*) into which Paul received 
an insight when he was caught up into the third heavens; II. Cor. xii. 4. 

I would suggest that the apostle's expressions above cited are so far from 
containing any apparent allusion to that extraordinary vision, that they do 
not necessarily convey the idea of any direct revelation whatsoever. The 
Greek verb 7rugctKAy.QAva>, as it is used in this and many other passages of 
Paul's epistles, signifies "I am taught" or "I learn" — disco, instituor, 
edoceor ,- Vide Schleusner in voc. no. 3. This apostle had learned or had been 
taught of the Lord the several particulars respecting the last supper which 
he afterwards communicated to his Corinthian converts: but in what man- 
ner he received the information in question, the text does not specify. It 
might be by that merely spiritual illumination which he enjoyed in so large 
a measure. It might also be through the medium of his inspired brethren, 
or through that of some written document which rested on divine authority. 
Whatever, indeed, this apostle knew in connexion with christian truth, and 
in whatever manner his knowledge of it was acquired, he might without 
impropriety describe himself as having learned it all of the Lord, who had 
interposed in so striking a manner for his convincement and conversion. 
Now that the information given to him respecting the circumstances of the 
Lord's supper, was received mediately, and not by any direct or extraordi- 
nary revelation, appears most probable, because those circumstances were 
simply historical, and were perfectly known to Paul's eleven brethren in 
the apostleship who were present on the occasion, and who would, as a 
matter of course, communicate with him on a subject in which he was 
equally interested with themselves. 

This view of the case is considerably strengthened by the apostle's having 
made use, in this passage, of the preposition atto instead of tta^a\ for in con- 
nexion with verbs implying a reception of knowledge or instruction, the 
latter preposition is almost uniformly employed before the name of the 
person who actually g-ives the information so received. This observation 
applies to the New Testament in general, and more particularly to those 
passages of the epistles of Paul in which he introduces the verb 7rAgAXAy.QAmv. 
See Gal. i. 12," I. Thes. ii. 13, iv. 1, II. Thes. iii. 6. comp. John v. 34, vi. 
45, viii. 26, x. 18, xv. 15, Acts x. 22, xxviii. 22. II. Tim. ii. 2, &c. The 
preposition euro, on the contrary, is of a more general signification, and is 
but seldom used in that particular sense which has now been described as 
attaching to tta^a. It may rather be considered as referring to the original 
cause. On the supposition that the apostle was taught the history of the 
last paschal supper, by his fellow apostles acc&rding to the divine will, or on 
divine authority, he might be properly said to have received his knowledge 
on the subject, ita^a rccv A7rocokw, attq tou Kugtou. 

That commentators are by no means unanimous in the opinion that an 






RITES IN THE WORSHIP OF GOD. 115 

apostle's statement founded on the instruction thus 
given to him on the subject, substantially accords 
with the narration of Luke. We are therefore to 
consider it as a fact resting on confirmed evidence, 
that when our Lord at his last paschal supper in- 
vited his disciples to take and eat the bread which 
he had broken, he added, " This do in remembrance 
of me :" and further, we learn from the apostle, that 
after Jesus had handed to them the cup to drink, he 
repeated a similar command, — " This do ye, as oft 
as ye drink it, in remembrance of me." 

Persons, who have long been habituated to con- 
sider these expressions of our Lord's in immediate 
connexion with the rite of the Eucharist as they 
themselves observe it, are very naturally led to ex- 
plain the former by the latter ; and thus with re- 
spect to the passages now quoted, they lose sight 
of those plain and simple principles of interpreta- 
tion, which they would of course apply to any other 
part of the sacred volume. I confess I see no other 
way of accounting for the sentiment still so preva- 



immediate revelation is here intended, will be sufficiently evinced by the 
following" short abstract given in Poole's Synopsis of the remarks made on 
this passage by certain eminent critics, and particularly by Beza. "It may 
be doubted whether the apostle learned these things mediately from those 
who were eye and ear witnesses, and on the narration of the other apostles, 
or immediately by revelation. He learned them of the Lord, that is, as 
proceeding from the Lord; the information being given to him by Ananias 
or the other disciples ; or else of the Lord by revelation. In the latter 
case however he would not have said uno but nag*, according to the usage 
of Greek authors in general, of the writers of the New Testament, in par- 
ticular, and more especially of Paul himself. " Other commentators un- 
derstand the passage in a still more general sense, as implying only that 
the matters which Paul communicated to the Corinthians respecting the 
Lord's supper, were no invention of his own, but rested on divine authority. 
So Camero, and Calvin. Rosenmuller, one of the most able and impartial 
of modern biblical critics, expresses a clear judgment that no direct reve- 
lation was here alluded to by the apostle. "Vide Schol. in N. T. in he. 



1 16 ON THE DISUSE OF ALL TYPICAL 

lent among christians, that when our Lord, after 
participating with his disciples in their last paschal 
meal, said to them " Do this in remembrance of 
me," he instituted a religious ceremony, which was 
thenceforward to form an essential part of worship, 
and which in that point of view was to be obliga- 
tory in all ages on the believers in Jesus. That 
the words of Christ when tried by the test of com- 
mon rules, and explained by the circumstances un- 
der which they were spoken, do not appear, and 
cannot be proved to have been fraught with so exten- 
sive a meaning, will probably be allowed by the 
candid and considerate critic : and I would suggest 
that no such meaning can justly be applied to them, 
for two reasons. 

That our Lord's words, in the first place, are not 
rightly interpreted as fixing the institution of a 
typical ceremony in connexion with christian wor- 
ship, there arises a strong presumption, on this gen- 
eral ground — that such an interpretation (a com- 
pletely adventitious one as far as relates to those 
mere words,) is directly at variance with the ac- 
knowledged principle, that the old Jewish system 
of typical and ceremonial observances was to be 
abrogated by the death of Christ, and with our Sa- 
viour's own law, that the Father was now to be 
worshipped, not according to the shadowy ritual of 
the Jews and Samaritans, but in spirit and in truth. 

Secondly, it is to be observed, that the com- 
mand of Jesus respecting the bread and wine was 
addressed only to twelve persons, and was of a na- 
ture simply positive. It is true that all the pre- 



RITES IN THE WORSHIP OF GOD. 117 

cepts of Jesus were addressed to those persons 
who were in his company at the time when they 
were uttered, and many of them probably to his 
apostles only: but there is an all-sufficient reason 
why the bulk of them are to be received as of uni- 
versal obligation, — namely that they are moral in 
their nature, and appertain to that unchangeable 
law of God which, when revealed, demands the 
obedience of all men at all times. But a merely 
positive precept has no connexion with that un- 
changeable law, and does nothing more than enjoin, 
for some specific purpose, a practice in itself indif- 
ferent. Such a precept, therefore, appears to con- 
tain no sufficient internal evidence of its being 
binding on any persons, except those to whom it 
was actually addressed, and others who were 
placed under the same particular circumstances. I 
would suggest that a universal obligation on the 
followers of any moral lawgiver to obey a precept 
of the nature now described, cannot be rightly ad- 
mitted, unless it be by such lawgiver expressly de- 
clared: and that its not being expressly declared 
affords an indication that no such universality was 
intended. 

The present argument may be fitly illustrated by 
another example of a similar nature. On the very 
same affecting occasion when Jesus directed his 
apostles to observe the practice now under consid- 
eration, he also enjoined them to wash one another's 
feet We read in the gospel of John, that after 
that last paschal supper, Jesus rose from the table, 
took a towel, girded himself, poured water into a 



1 18 ON THE DISUSE OF ALL TYPICAL 

basin, and " began to wash his disciples' feet, and 
to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was 
girded." After thus evincing the lowliness of his 
mind, he said to his disciples, " know ye what I 
have done unto you ? Ye call me Master, and ye 
say well : for so I am. If I then your Lord and 
Master have washed your feet, ye ought also to 
wash one another's feet ; for I have given you an 
example, that ye should do as I have done to you" 
Here was an injunction conveyed to the apostles 
in words fully as explicit, and with accompaniments 
equally emphatic, as was the preceding command 
respecting the bread and wine. Yet since that in- 
junction was simply positive, relating to an act of 
no moral importance in itself, and since that act 
was particularly connected with the habits and sit- 
uation of the persons thus addressed — no one sup- 
poses that an obedience to such an injunction, is 
necessary for christians of every age and country. 
Undoubtedly that mutual respect and benevolence, 
of which the washing of one another's feet was thus 
prescribed to some of his servants as an instance 
and a sign, is universally incumbent on the follow- 
ers of Jesus. Universally incumbent upon them 
also is that love and allegiance towards their Sa- 
viour, and that dependence upon his meritorious 
death, which the apostles were accustomed to ex- 
press by their commemorative supper. But in both 
cases, according to the view of Friends on the sub- 
ject, the outward circumstance may be omitted 
without any real infraction of the revealed will of 
God. 



RITES IN THE WORSHIP OF GOB. 119 

In confirmation of these general arguments, the 
reader's attention may now be called to a very 
striking fact ; namely that in the gospel of Mat- 
thew, which was written by an eye witness, and 
probably at a still earlier date than that of Lufee y 
and which contains a very exact description of our 
Lord's last supper with his disciples, of the break- 
ing of the bread, of the handing of the cup, and of 
the comparison made by Jesus of the one with his 
body, and of the other with his blood ; the words 
upon which alone could have been founded the 
institution of this supposed christian rite — " Do this 
in remembrance of me," — are entirely omitted. We 
are not to conclude from this omission that those 
words were not spoken. That they were spoken, 
on the contrary, is certain on the authority of both 
Luke and Paul. But since Matthew describes all 
the circumstances of the occasion and narrates the 
whole of our Lord's address, with the single excep- 
tion of these words, we can hardly suppose him to 
have understood that the precept of Jesus was of 
that very leading importance which is generally 
imagined ; or that our Lord then instituted a rite, 
which was in every age to form an essential part 
of divine worship, and to be universally obligatory 
on the professors of Christianity. Precisely the 
same observation applies to the gospel of Mark, 
which is supposed to have been written under the 
immediate superintendence of the apostle Peter. 

What then may be deemed a fair and reasonable 
interpretation of our Lord's very simple precept ? 
and in what signification would the twelve apostles. 



120 ON THE DISUSE OP ALL TYPICAL 

to whom these words were addressed, naturally mi' 
derstand them ? In order to give a satisfactory an- 
swer to this enquiry, we may in the first instance 
observe, that those twelve apostles, to whom our 
Lord addressed himself, were all Jews or Gali- 
leans ; that they had long been accustomed to ob- 
serve the rites of the supper of the Passover, and 
that among those rites were numbered (as has been 
already stated) the breaking of the bread and the 
handing of the cup, with the blessing, and giving 
of thanks. As they had already been habituated 
tc these customs, so was the Lord Jesus well aware 
tflat they would still maintain them : for as it has 
been already remarked, the apostles continued in 
t|e practice of parts of the Jewish ritual, long after 
tjie crucifixion of our Lord; and although that 
ritual was in fact abolished by his death, the sud- 
den disuse of it does not appear to have been en- 
joined upon them by their divine Master. Having 
these facts in our view, we may reasonably inter* 
pret the words of Jesus as commanding nothing 
more, than that his apostles should call him to their 
recollection, when they met together to celebrate 
the supper of the Passover. "This cup," said Je- 
sus, " is the New Testament in my blood." Now 
it was not every cup of wine which represented the 
New Testament in the blood of Christ : it was the 
cup of wine drunk at the supper of the Passover — 
an institution which they were then celebrating, 
and which in some of its circumstances, was ex- 
pressly typical of the death of the Messiah. It ap- 
pears then, by no means very improbable, that it 



RITES IN THE WORSHIP OP GOD. 121 

was to the cup of the Passover exclusively, that 
our Saviour's injunction applied — " This do ye, -as 
oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me ;" that is, 
as often as ye meet together to celebrate the sup- 
per of the Passover, and to drink of that cup, which 
represents the New Testament in my blood, take 
care that ye forget not the true purport of the cere- 
mony — do it in remembrance of me. 

Such appears to be an easy and natural interpre- 
tation of our Lord's words. Nevertheless, it can- 
not be denied that they are capable of a sense some- 
what more extensive. Although the breaking of 
the bread, the handing of the wine, &c. formed a 
part of the Jewish ceremonial order of the Passover 
supper, there is reason to believe that a very simi- 
lar method was observed in the conduct of those 
more common meals, of which the Jews were accus- 
tomed to partake in one another's company. Thus 
when Jesus on a subsequent occasion "sat at meat" 
with the two disciples at Emmaus, we again find 
him blessing, breaking, and distributing the bread, 
Luke xxiv. 30; and when Paul had induced his com- 
panions on the voyage, to unite with him in taking 
the needful food, we read that " he took bread, and 
gave thanks to God in the presence of them all: and 
when he had broken it, he began to eat;" Acts xxvii. 
35. Such being the common practice of the Jews, 
it is very probable that the apostles might under- 
stand our Lord's injunction as not confined to the 
Passover supper, but as extending to other more 
familiar occasions, when they might be gathered 
together to participate in a common meal. On these 



122 ON THE DISUSE OF ALL TYPICAL 

occasions as well as at the Passover supper, the} 
might consider it a duty laid upon them by their 
beloved Master, to break their bread, and to drink 
of their cup, not only for the satisfaction of their 
natural appetites, but in commemoration of the body 
which was broken, and of the blood which was shed 
for their sakes. 

That the Lord Jesus w T as thus understood by 
some of his hearers, may be collected from the 
known practice of the church, at the very earliest 
period of its history. Of those numerous persons 
who were converted by means of the ministry of 
Peter on the day of Pentecost, we read that " they 
continued steadfastly in the apostle's doctrine and 
fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in pray- 
ers;" Acts ii. 42. Since the "breaking of bread" is 
here mentioned among other signs of religious com- 
munion, it probably signifies (according to the gene- 
ral opinion of biblical critics) that breaking of bread 
which was introduced as a memorial of the death 
of Christ. Nevertheless, that the practice in ques- 
tion was observed as a part of the social meal, is 
evident from the immediate context. " And all 
that believed," adds the historian, " were toge- 
ther, and had all things common and they con- 
tinuing daily with one accord in the temple and 
breaking bread from house to house, did eat their 
meat with gladness and singleness of heart ;" ver. 
46. On another occasion, when we are informed 
that " on the first da} r of the week" the disciples at 
Troas "came together to break bread," Acts xx. 1\ 
there is no reason to suppose that they met for the 






RITES IN THE WORSHIP OF GOD. 123 

purpose of performing a religious ceremony. It 
appears rather that they came together to partici- 
pate in a brotherly repast, of which, it is probable, 
that one particular object was the joint commemo- 
ration of the death of their Lord. After Paul had 
taken the opportunity afforded him by this meeting, 
of preaching at length to the disciples, it is obvious 
that he broke bread with them in order to the re- 
freshment of his body and the satisfaction of the de- 
mands of nature. " When he therefore was come 
up again," says Luke, " and had broken bread, and 
eaten, and talked along while, even till break of day, 
so he departed;" ver. 11. 

Lastly, the same fact is evident from the descrip- 
tion given by Paul of the abuses which had crept 
in among his Corinthian converts in their method 
of conducting these common repasts. " When ye 
come together therefore into one place, this is not 
to eat the Lord's supper. For in eating every one 
taketh before another his own supper : and one is 
hungry, and another is drunken. What? have ye 
not houses to eat and to drink in? or despise ye 
the church (or assembly) of God, and shame them 
that have not ? What shall I say to you ? Shall I 
praise you in this ? I praise you not ;" I. Cor. xi. 
20 — 22. After thus reproving them, and after ex- 
plaining to them in a passage already cited, the ori- 
gin and true object of the observance which they 
had thus abused, the apostle, zealous as he was for 
the right order of this christian meal, concludes with 
the following exhortation : ? wherefore my brethren, 
when ye come together to eat, tarry one for another; 



124 ON THE DISUSE OF ALL TYPICAL 

and if any man hunger,* let him eat at home, that 
ye come not together unto condemnation." 

The supper which the apostle here describes as 
the Lord's supper, which the Corinthians had so 
shamefully misconducted, and during the course of 
which the bread was broken and the wine handed 
about in commemoration of the death of Christ, was 
probably the same as was otherwise denominated 
" love" or the " supper of love." " Their coming 
together," says Theophylact on I. Cor. xi. 20, (or 
rather Chrysostom, from whom his commentaries 
were borrowed,) " was intended as a sign of love 
and fellowship, and he denominates this social ban- 
quet the Lord's supper, because it was the imitation, 
of that awful supper which the Lord ate with his 
disciples."t These suppers of love or "love feasts" 
are alluded to by Peter, II. Pet. ii. 13, and by Jude 
ver. 12; and are described by Pliny, Ep. lib. x. 97; 
as well as by Tertullian, Jlpol. adv. Gentes. cap. 39 ; 
and other early Fathers, Clem. Mex. Peed. lib. ii. c. 
1, Constit. Apostol. lib. ii. c. 28, &c. It appears that 
they were public repasts of a decent and frugal cha- 
racter, in which the poor and the rich of the early 
christian churches participated together, and which 
were considered as being both the symbols and 
pledges of mutual harmony and brotherly love. 
Such then was the " Lord's supper" of the primi- 
tive christians; such were the occasions on which 
they were accustomed to break their bread, and to 

* Vide Grotii Comm. in loc. " Est ^XivAtr/moc (irrisio acerba.) Loquitur 
enim tanquam pueris qui ita solent esse o^vmrni (famelici) ut quidvis arri- 
piant, nee alios ad partem vocent, neque velint awx /uLtyfuv (Jicus partiri.") 

I So Grotius, Estius. Justinian, and others, — see Poole's Synopsis. 



RITES IN THE WORSHIP OP GOD. 125 

drink their wine, as a memorial of the body and 
blood of Christ .* 

To the simple practice which thus prevailed 
among these primitive christians, (if preserved with- 
in proper bounds) there appears to be nothing which 
can fairly be objecte4| It was a practice which 
might be classed rather under the head of pious 
customs, than under that of direct religious cere- 
monies. It was perhaps little more than giving to 
one of the common occasions of life, a specific di- 
rection of an edifying character, and under the pe- 
culiar circumstances of these early disciples, it 
might be considered no inconsistent result of that 
general law, that whether we eat or drink, or what- 
soever we do, all is to be done to the glory of God 
and in the name of the Lord Jesus. But appropri- 
ate as these feasts of charity might be to the condi- 
tion of the infant church, when the believers were 
comparatively few in number, and in a considerable 
degree possessed all things in common, they woul 
evidently be much less adapted for the use of thos 
vast multitudes of persons, very slightly connecte 

* Vide Schleusner, Lex. in voc. aya.7r>t, No. 7. '* Ayst7rou t agapx, (1<m 
feasts,) fuerunt convivia publica in conventibus Christianorum sacris insfe- 
tuta, conjuncta in primitiva et apostolica ecclesia cum celebratione festiya 
coense Dominicae, ita dicta quod christians charitatis symbola essent et tes- 
serae," etc. The celebration of the Eucharist and that of the love feast ap- 
pear to be mentioned by Ignatius (A. D. 101,) as identical. "Let that be 
considered," says the ancient father, " a valid Eucharist which is under the 
care of a bishop, and in which he takes a part. Where the bishop appeals, 
there let the people attend. It is unlawful either to baptize or to celp- 
brate the love feast without the bishop ;" Ep. ad Smyrn. ch. 8. So we are 
informed by Tertullian (A. D. 200,) that even in his day, the Eucharist 
was received by christians in connexion with their meals; "Eucharist^c 
sacramentum et in tempore victus, et omnibus mandatum a Domino, etiam 
antelucanis coetibus, nee de aliorum manu quam prsesidentium sumimus ;" 
Be Coron. Milit. cap. 3. Ed. Semleri, iv. 341 ; See also Grotius and JVhitby 
on I. Cor. x. and xi. 



126 ON THE DISUSE OF ALL TYPICAL 

with one another, who profess Christianity in mo- 
dern times. As the numbers increased in any 
church, who would as members of it possess a right 
to attend the love feasts, there would necessarily 
arise a great danger of abuse in such a practice; 
and that this abuse actu^Jy took place in the 
church of Corinth to an alarming and disgraceful 
degree, we have already noticed on the authority 
of the Apostle Paul. 

On the one hand, therefore, we may allow that 
those persons who continue the observance of the 
Lord's supper, not as a religious ceremony consti- 
tuting a necessary part of divine worship, but on 
the simple system of the primitive christians, are 
not without their warrant in the example of those 
christians, for the adoption of such a course. On 
the other hand it is no less evident that the appa- 
rent unsuitableness of the custom to the present 
condition of the visible church, its known liability 
to abuse, and more especially its close affinity with 
the abolished practices of the Jewish ritual, afford 
very strong reasons for its discontinuance. 

That there is nothing in the history of the origin 
of that custom which precludes, under so obvious 
a change of circumstances, the liberty for its disuse, 
the reader will probably allow, for reasons already 
stated. Here, however, it appears necessary to 
notice a particular expression of the apostle Paul's 
from which many persons have derived an opinion, 
that this practice is obligatory on believers in Je- 
sus, until the end of the world. " For as oft as ye 
eat this bread and drink this cup," says the apostle 



RITES IN THE WORSHIP OF GOD. 127 

in a passage already cited, " ye do show the Lord's 
death till he come." The inference deduced from 
these words respecting the necessary permanence 
of the rite of the Lord's supper, appears to be iil- 
founded. For in the first place they contain no 
command to the Corinthians to continue the practice 
in question until the Lord's coming; and in the se- 
cond place, it is evident from the context, that it 
w r as not here the apostle's object to impress upcn 
his friends the duration of the custom, but only its 
meaning or direction. The stress of his declaration 
plainly lies upon the words "Ye do show the Lord's 
death." The words " till he come" w r ere probabr/ 
added as a kind of reservation ; for the purpose cf 
conveying the idea that when the Lord himse.f 
should come, such a memorial of his death would 
be obsolete and unnecessary. 

It appears from various passages in the epistles, 
that the early christians, and even the apostle Paul 
himself, lived under a strong impression that the 
coming of Christ in glory was near at hand. Bui; 
although this impression on a point confessedly not 
revealed to any of the inspired servants of God 
(Matt. xxiv. 313,) was erroneous ; there is a sense 
in which it may be truly declared, that the Lord 
Jesus is already come again. He is come in those 
spiritual manifestations of his divine presence, by 
which his faithful disciples in every age are upheld, 
strengthened, and comforted. While I by no means 
intend to assert that this is the second appearance 
of Christ to which Paul is here alluding, I cannot 
but remark that the principle on which he upholds 



128 ON THE DISUSE OF ALL TYPICAL 

the coming of our Lord as the termination of the 
oijtward ordinance, is plainly consistent with the 
sentiment of Friends, that the spiritual manifesta- 
tions of the Lord Jesus, and the direct communion 
with him enjoyed by his obedient followers, virtual- 
ly abrogates any practice in his service, which is of 
a [nerely symbolical or typical character. 

The view now taken of the apostle's doctrine will 
fit|y introduce a concluding observation — that while 
Ffiends consider it to be their duty to abstain from 
ttjat ritual participation in bread and wine, so usually 
observed among their fellow-christians, there are 
n|> persons who insist more strongly than they do, 
oi that Avhich they deem to be the only needful 
simper of the Lord. That supper, according to 
their apprehension, is altogether of a spiritual na- 
ture. Now it is a circumstance which strongly con- 
firms the general view thrown before the reader in 
tie arguments already stated, that according to the 
narrations severally presented to us by Matthew, 
fltark, and Luke, of the last paschal meal of Jesus 
with his disciples, our Lord availed himself of the 
vary occasion which has given rise among christians 
to the rite of the Eucharist, in order to direct the 
attention of his disciples to the supper now alluded 
fo — a repast of a totally different description, and 
pne which may be enjoyed by the disciples of Christ, 
independently of every outward ordinance. " With 
desire I have desired," said Jesus to his apostles, 
"to eat this passover with you before I suffer: for 
I$ay unto you, I will not any more eat thereof until 
it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God ;" Luke xxiL 



KITES IN THE WORSHIP OF GOD. 129 

15, 16. Again, "This is my blood of the New 
Testament, which is given for many for the remis* 
si on of sins. But I say unto you, I will not drink 
henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day 
ivhen I drink it new with you in my Fathers king- 
dom;'' 9 Matt, xx vi. 28, 29. Again, "Ye are they 
which have continued with me in my temptations. 
And I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father 
hath appointed unto me ; that ye may eat and drink 
at my table in my kingdom :" Luke xxii. 28 — 30. 

We may indeed believe that these gracious de- 
clarations are accomplished in all their fulness, only 
in the heavenly state of happiness and glory ; but 
it is sufficiently evident, and is allowed by various 
commentators, that our Lord's expressions, now 
cited, cannot be considered as relating exclusively 
to the world to come. When Jesus Christ had 
died on the cross a sacrifice for the sins of the 
whole world, the type of the passover had received 
its fulfilment in the kingdom of God. When his 
blood had been shed for many, for the remission of 
sins, and when he had ascended to the right hand of 
the Father Almighty, that kingdom or reign, con- 
ducted through the mediation of the Messiah, was 
established in the earth. Then therefore did the 
day arrive, as we may fairly deduce from these im- 
pressive passages, when Jesus was again to eat the 
passover with his disciples, and to drink the new 
wine in their company: according to his own decla- 
ration on a subsequent occasion, " Behold I stand 
at the door, and knock : if any man hear my voice, 
and open the door, I will come in to him, and sup 

R 



130 ON THE DISUSE OF ALL TYPICAL 

ivith him, and he with me ;" Rev. iii. 20. When the 
faithful disciples of our glorified Redeemer open 
the doors of their hearts at the voice of his Holy 
Spirit; when, more especially, they are engaged 
in rendering unto him their joint and willing service, 
and in worshipping God in unison, he is often 
pleased to come in amongst them, to sup with them, 
and to permit them to sup with him. Then does 
he bring them into a holy fellowship with the Fa- 
ther, with himself, and one with another; breaks 
for them the bread of life • and gives them to drink 
of his most precious blood; and thus while their 
souls are refreshed, nourished and comforted, they 
are brought, in a living and effective manner, to the 
remembrance of that crucified Lord, who is their 
strength, their joy, and their salvation. 

On a general review, then, of the particular pas- 
sages of the New Testament which relate to the 
observance of the Lord's supper, I may venture to 
recapitulate my own sentiments, that such a prac- 
tice has no proper or necessary connection with a 
spiritual feeding on the body and blood of Christ — 
that the history of our Lord's last paschal supper 
with his disciples, affords no reason for believing that 
he then instituted a religious ceremony, which was 
thenceforth to form an essential part of the worship 
of christians — that our Lord's injunction on that 
occasion may be understood, either as relating sole- 
ly to the rites of the Passover, or as intended to 
give a religious direction to the more common so- 
cial repasts of his disciples — that it was in connec- 
tion with such repasts and particularly with their 



RITES IN THE WORSHIP OF GOD. 131 

love-feasts, that the primitive christians were ac- 
customed to commemorate the death of Christ — 
that the custom of those love-feasts, however ap- 
propriate to the circumstances of the earliest disci- 
ples, soon fell into abuse as the numbers of believ- 
ers increased, and appears to be, in a great degree, 
inapplicable to the present condition of the chris- 
tian world — and lastly, that under the influence of 
the spiritual manifestations of our Redeemer, we 
may, without the bread and wine, participate in that 
true supper of the Lord which he has himself so 
clearly upheld to the expectation of his disciples, 
and which alone is indispensable for the edification, 
consolation, and salvation, of his people. 

Although, for the reasons detailed in the present 
disquisition, it may fairly be concluded that the 
practices of water baptism and the Lord's supper 
are by no means needful, it is certain that these 
practices have been very generally observed by the 
professors of the christian name. This fact is easi- 
ly explained not only by the known power of exam- 
ple and tradition, but also by that principle in our 
nature, which leads us so commmonly to place our 
dependence upon outward and visible things. Man 
is naturally prone to trust in any thing rather than 
in the visible Creator, and he is ever ready to make 
the formal ordinance a part of his religious system, 
because he can rely upon it with ease to himself, 
and may often find in it a plausible substitute for 
the mortification of his own will. Now I would 
suggest that the ordinances which we have been 
considering, so far from being like the moral law of 



132 ON THE DISUSE OF ALL TYPICAL 

God universally salutary, are evidently fraught with 
no little danger, as occasions by which this deceit- 
ful disposition in the human heart is naturally ex- 
cited and brought into action. And here our ap- 
peal may be made not only to theory but to facts, 
for it is indisputable that the outward rites of bap- 
tism and the supper as observed among the profes- 
sors of Christianity, have been the means of leading 
multitudes into gross superstition. How many 
thousands of persons are there, as every spiritually 
minded christian will allow, who place upon these 
outward rites a reliance which is warranted neither 
by reason nor by Scripture, and which so far from 
bringing them nearer to God — so far from remind- 
ing them of Christ — operates in the most palpable 
manner as a diversion from a true and living faith 
in their Creator and Redeemer! How often has 
the ignorant sinner, even in the hour of death, de- 
pended on the " sacrament" of the Lord's supper as 
upon a saving ordinance ! And how many a learned 
theologian both ancient and modern has been found 
to insist on the dangerous tenet, that the rite of 
baptism is regeneration ! 

While the Society of Friends believe that ordi- 
nances which are so peculiarly liable to abuse, and 
which have been the means of exciting, not only 
the superstitions now alluded to, but endless divi- 
sions and contentions, and many cruel persecutions 
in the church, cannot truly appertain to the law of 
God; while they are persuaded, on the contraiy, 
that the spirituality of that law is opposed to the 
continued observance of any typical religious rite ; 



RITES IN THE WORSHIP OF GOD. 13.'* 

and while on these grounds, they consider them- 
selves amply justified in the omission of such prac- 
tices ; they entertain, I trust, no disposition what- 
ever to judge their fellow-christians, who conscien- 
tiously make use of these ceremonies. They are, 
it may be hoped, too well aware of the importance 
of obedience to the Lord Jesus, to condemn others, 
who, from their very desire to obey him, are led to 
differ from themselves. 

For my own part, I am persuaded that there are 
many persons who avail themselves of the rites in 
question, on principles which cannot be deemed su- 
perstitious, and who even derive through these 
signs and memorials a real instruction and edifica- 
tion. Such instances may serve to convince us that 
God continues to accept the sincere heart, and that 
he is still pleased to bless a variety of means to a 
variety of conditions. Nevertheless I cannot but 
deem it probable, that there are many christians not 
of our profession, who, as they draw yet nearer in 
spirit to an omnipresent Deity, will be permitted 
to find in the disuse of all types, " a more excellent 
way." 



CHAPTER V 



ON THE NATURE AND CHARACTER OF THE CHRISTIAN 

MINISTRY, 

The influences of the Holy Spirit on the hearts of 
men are both general and extraordinary. By the 
general influences of the Spirit I mean the work of 
grace — a work essential to the salvation of the soul, 
by which alone we are turned from our evil ways, 
enabled to serve God out of a pure heart, and pre- 
served alive as members of the body of Christ. — 
" The grace of God which bringeth salvation," says 
the apostle Paul, " hath appeared to all men ; teach- 
ing us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, 
we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in 
this present world;" Tit. ii. 11, 12. Again, he says, 
"By grace are ye saved through faith; and that 
not of yourselves : it is the gift of God ;" Eph. ii. 
8. The extraordinary influences of the Spirit, are 
those which qualify individuals for particular reli- 
gious services ; they are by no means indispensa- 
ble to salvation : it is not by them that we maintain 
our spiritual life ; neither are they as a whole the 
common allotment of all the living members of the 
true church, but are variously bestowed — one upon 
one person, and another upon another. 

These extraordinary influences are usualty de- 
nominated the gifts of the Spirit. " To one," says 
Paul, "is given by the Spirit, the word of wisdom ; 



CHARACTER OF THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY. 135 

to another the word of knowledge, by the same 
Spirit ; to another faith, by the same Spirit ; (that 
is, probably, such faith as qualified for the execu- 
tion of some peculiarly important service;) to 
another the gifts of healing, by the same Spirit ; to 
another the working of miracles : to another pro- 
phecy ; to another the discerning of Spirits : to 
another divers kinds of tongues ; to another the in- 
terpretation of tongues : but all these worketh that 
one and the self-same Spirit, dividing to every man 
severally as he will;" I. Cor. xii. 8 — 11. 

This apostolic description of the distribution of 
divine gifts in the church, is introduced by the de- 
claration, that "the manifestation of the Spirit is 
given to every man* to profit withal (or as in the 
Greek, in order to that which is profitable or use- 
/w/."f ) And as every member of the natural body 
contributes by the exercise of its own functions to 
the welfare of the whole body, so it may be pre- 
sumed that there is no real christian who is not, 
sooner or later, endowed with some particular spi- 
ritual capacity for usefulness in the church, and call- 
ed to the performance of some specific services, in 
the great cause of truth and righteousness. 

When, however, we consider any one gift of the 
Spirit, we plainly perceive that it is not bestowed 
generally, but is the portion of those individuals 
only, upon whom is laid that peculiar office in the 
church to the exercise of which such snft is direct- 
ed. Now the gift to which I am about to advert, 
is pre-eminent above all others as a means of gen- 



13G ON THE NATURE AND CHARACTER 

eral usefulness — of conversion, instruction, and con- 
solation ; it is that which is now generally denomi- 
nated the gift of" ministry," but which in the Scrip- 
tures is sometimes described as the gift of "pro- 
phecy ;" I. Cor. xiv. 3. Undoubtedly, there have 
existed at various periods and for particular pur- 
poses, other gifts of the Spirit, which require a 
higher degree of supernatural influence; such as 
those of " miracles" and of " tongues ;" but the gift 
by means of which divine truth is outwardly com- 
municated and applied, is of constant and therefore 
of paramount benefit ; and when we take into our 
view the weakness and imperfection of human na- 
ture, we may consider it as equally important in 
every age, to the maintenance, edification, and en- 
largement, of the militant church. 

I believe it to be allowed among the plurality of 
christians, that none can be true ministers of the 
gospel, who are not called to the exercise of that 
office by the Holy Ghost ; and consequently that 
the faculty of ministry is still to be considered a 
gift of the Spirit. But although this doctrine is 
generally admitted, it is very far indeed from being 
consistently or universally carried into practice. 
Many rush into the sacred office, and enjoy the 
temporal privileges with which it is so usually con- 
nected, whose whole deportment evinces in the 
plainest manner, that they are destitute of qualifi- 
cation for airy such undertaking. Others, whose 
views are of a somewhat more serious complexion, 
and who are actuated by a general desire to per- 
form their duty, are obviously depending, in their 



OF THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY. 137 

ministry, not upon that Spirit who can alone quali- 
fy for the exercise of his own gifts, but upon 
human learning and merely intellectual exertion. 
Their discourses are so far from arising out of the 
intimations of a divine influence, that they are the 
mere produce of their own reflections, and their 
own industry — unless indeed they are borrowed, 
as is too frequently the case, from the reflections 
and industry of others. Such discourses may be 
the word of the preacher, or they may be the word 
of his neighbour, but they cannot with any degree 
of strictness or propriety, be described as " the 
word of the Lord." 

Happily, there is still another class of ministers 
among various denominations of christians (as I can 
testify from my own observation,) whose views on 
the present subject are of a much more spiritual 
character. In the first place, they enter into the 
sacred office under very decided impressions of 
christian duty, and in the humble, yet full persua- 
sion, that they are called into this field of service, 
by the great Head of the church. And In the se- 
cond place, when invested, according to their own 
apprehension, with the office in question, they ex- 
ercise its important functions, not only with zeal 
and fidelity, but with a real feeling of dependence 
upon the divine Spirit. Such persons are evident- 
ly the servants of the Lord Jesus Christ; and we 
can scarcely fail to observe how frequently their 
labours are blessed to the conversion and edifica- 
tion of the people. Nevertheless, even these preach- 
ers of the gospel appear by no means to consider it 

s 



138 ON THE NATURE AND CHARACTER 

necessary that their ministry should be the unmix- 
ed offspring of the Lord's Spirit. The principle 
upon which they generally (I will not say univer- 
sally) conduct their religious services, appears to 
be this — that having been called to the work and 
invested with the office of preachers, they are con- 
stantly to seek for the assistance of divine power 
in the exercise of its functions : nevertheless, that 
the discourses which they actually utter, are not to 
be immediately prompted of the Lord, but, under 
the more general and indirect influences of the Ho* 
ly Spirit, are to be the produce of their own minds, 
and mostly of previous study, research, and re- 
flection. 

Little as I am inclined to cast any blame upon 
others who are evidently accepted and assisted by 
their "own Master," I conceive it to be a duty 
plainly laid upon the Society of Friends, to hold up 
a still higher and purer standard respecting the 
christian ministry. It is a principle generally un- 
derstood and admitted by the members of that So- 
ciety, that the faculty of the christian ministry is a 
gift of the Spirit which cannot be rightly exercised 
otherwise than under the direct and immediate influ- 
ence of that Spirit. Friends are not, therefore, satis- 
fied with any general impression that it is their 
duty to preach the gospel ; nor do they venture, 
under such impression, either to employ their own 
intellectual exertions as a preparation for the ser- 
vice, or to select their own time for performing it. 
If it be the divine will that they should minister, 
they believe it will be manifested to them by the 



OF THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY. 139 

divine Spirit when they are to speak, whom they 
are to address, and what things they are to express. 
In the exercise of so high and sacred a function, 
they dare not depend either in a greater or less de- 
gree upon their own strength or wisdom ; but they 
feel constrained to place their sole reliance upon 
him who " searcheth the reins and the hearts ;" 
upon him who "hath the key of David;" who"open- 
eth and no man shutteth, and shutteth and no man 
openeth ;" Rev. iii. 7. 

The individual who, according to the apprehen- 
sion of Friends, is a true minister of the gospel, 
(and there may be many such persons in a single 
congregation,) avails himself with strict regularity 
of the opportunities provided amongst us, as in every 
religious society, for the purpose of divine worship. 
In company with his brethren and sisters, he waits 
in public upon Him, who is alone the author of every 
good and perfect gift. His soul is humbled in true 
prostration before God ; and while he continues in 
this condition, he is often sensible not only of a 
general desire for the spiritual welfare of his friends, 
but of a strong yet secret exercise of mind on their 
account. Now as he patiently waits, in reverent 
dependence upon Christ the great Minister of the 
sanctuary, this exercise of mind often assumes an 
explicit direction ; and when he apprehends that 
the secret command has gone forth towards him, 
vocally to address either the congregation in preach- 
ing, or the Almighty in prayer; he obeys the man- 
date of his Lord, and speaks as the Spirit gives 
him utterance. When he has been enabled to dis- 



140 ON THE NATURE AND CHARACTER. 

charge himself of the burthen which has thus rested 
upon him, he returns to a state of silence, and is 
often permitted to experience a consoling feeling of 
relief and tranquillity. The quietude and true ease 
which then prevailed in his mind afford him an evi- 
dence of which he may with humility avail himself, 
that in thus exercising his gift, he has been follow- 
ing, not the carnal imaginations of his own heart, 
but the voice of the true Shepherd. 

Here I would particularly observe, that, with 
every humble and devoted minister who acts on 
these principles, and who carefully maintains the 
watch, the internal operations of the Spirit will not 
only prompt to a right exercise of the gift, but will 
afford a constant check upon its abuse. There will 
be found in those internal operations, a secret dis- 
cipline, a salutary correction, for those who exceed 
the limits of their calling, and stretch their gift be- 
yond its true measure. If, however, in any persons, 
who have received the gift of the ministry, a watch- 
ful dependence upon God is not maintained, and 
thus their services degenerate into the use of words 
without life, the spiritually-minded hearer will not 
fail to observe so important a change ; and thus, 
while the members of a religious society are " sub- 
ject to one another in love," and a right christian 
oversight is preserved among them, it will not, for 
the most part, be found a difficult matter, to prevent 
the continuance, in any congregation, of a spurious 

ministrv. 

%> 

The use of the christian ministry whether in 
preaching or in prayer; whether in the public con- 



OF THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY. 141 

gregation, or even in the more private circle, is im- 
mediately connected with the worship of God. It 
is universally understood to constitute a part of that 
worship. The sentiments of Friends, therefore, on 
this subject, like those on the rites of baptism and 
the supper, arise out of that part of the divine law, 
as revealed under the New Covenant, which declares 
that God is a Spirit, and must be worshipped by his 
followers in spirit and in truth. 

They conceive that true spiritual worship con- 
sists in that communion of the soul with its Creator, 
which is not interrupted either by the use of cere- 
monial ordinances, or by any religious services ori- 
ginating in the invention and contrivance of man ; 
and therefore they apprehend, that no verbal ad- 
ministrations properly consist with worship, but 
those which spring simply and immediately from 
the influence of the Holy Spirit. They believe 
that God can be rightly praised only by his own 
ivorks. Now among those works may be reckoned 
the spiritual ministry of which I am speaking; for, 
although it may be affected by the infirmity of the 
instrument through which it passes, (and this may 
be the case in a greater or lesser degree,) it is never- 
theless called into exercise, ordered, and directed 
to its right object, by the Lord himself. 

Here I would observe that there appears to exist 
a material distinction between teaching and preach- 
ing. While in the performance of either of these 
christian duties, the dependence of the true chris- 
tian will be placed on the grace and Spirit of God, 
it may be freely admitted that in teaching, a much 



J 42 ON THE NATURE AND CHARACTER 

greater liberty is given for the use of our merely 
human faculties, than in the higher and more impor- 
tant office of prophesying or preaching. The Spirit 
operates through a variety of administrations: and 
opportunities frequently occur, when the composi- 
tion of treatises on religious subjects, when com- 
menting on the Scriptures, or when the use of other 
means of christian instruction, is not only allowable, 
but desirable. But such an allowance by no means 
affects the principle of Friends, that with occasions 
so solemn as those of the congregational worship 
of the Deity, no ministry can be in true harmony, 
but such as proceeds from the direct influences of 
the Holy Spirit. It is then, that in a peculiar and 
pre-eminent manner, the Almighty Saviour of men 
is present with his people. The sacred canopy of 
their heavenly Father's love is spread over them ; 
nor can they worship him aright, unless the rea- 
sonings and imaginations of their own minds are 
brought into subjection. At such times the man- 
date is proclaimed to the spiritual worshipper. "Be 
silent, O all flesh, before the Lord ; for he is raised 
up out of his holy habitation;" Zech. ii. 13. If in- 
cense is then to be offered unto him, its sweet sa- 
vour must arise out of no " strange fire ;" Levit. x. 
1. If the ark of the covenant is to be uplifted 
among the people, none may touch it to whom the 
command is not given ; II. Sam. vi. 6. If the pure 
temple of the Lord is to be built up, he himself 
must prepare the materials, " and neither hammer 
nor axe nor any tool of iron" — nothing of the unau- 



OF THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY. 



143 



ihorized instrumentality of man — must be " heard 
in the house;" I. Kings vi. 7. 

In offering the description now given of the na- 
ture and operation of that which we deem to be 
true ministry ; in adverting to its divine origin, and 
in marking its coincidence with the pure spirituali- 
ty of christian worship, I have not forgotten our 
own infirmities and deficiencies; and it has been 
very far indeed from my intention to convey the 
idea that we are found universally to maintain in 
practice this high yet simple standard. I am re- 
marking only that this is our principle, and that it is 
a principle which evidently arises out of the divine 
law, and accords with its holiness and perfection. 

There is another point of view, in which the pre- 
sent subject requires to be considered. 

Although the object for which christians meet in 
congregations, is the worship of the Deity, ^nd al- 
though it is by means of a direct communion between 
God and the soul, that the worshipper is chiefly 
edified, the "Master of assemblies" is pleased to 
appoint the outward ministration of preaclling, in 
immediate connexion with the service thus offered 
to himself, for the purposes of conversion, edifica- 
tion, and consolation. It is obvious that in any assem- 
bly of persons, there is always a great variety of 
internal condition ; and the mental state even of a 
single individual is varied from time to time, by cir- 
cumstances known only to himself and to his Crea- 
tor. In order then to be useful to its fullest extent, 
the ministry of the gospel ought to consist not only 
in a statement of scriptural truths, but in a right ex- 



144 ON THE NATURE AND CHARACTER 

perimental application of those truths, as occasion 
offers, to all this variety of internal condition. Now, 
although the preacher, from his own observation, 
may form some opinion respecting the states of his 
hearers, he cannot penetrate the secrets of the 
heart, and his judgment never fails to be obscure, 
uncertain, and imperfect. Thus his administrations 
may or may not be fitted to those persons for whom 
they are intended. But the Minister of ministers 
searches the hearts of men, and under the immedi- 
ate influence of his Spirit, the preacher of the gos- 
pel is enabled to unfold the condition of individuals, 
and rightly to apply to their several wants the word 
of consolation, reproof, or instruction. Such was 
the character of that prophesying or preaching of 
which Ave read in the epistles of Paul. " If all pro- 
phesy," says he, " and there come in one who be- 
lieveth not, or one unlearned, he is convinced of all, 
he is judged of all : and thus are the secrets of his 
heart made manifest; and so falling down on his face 
he will worship God, and report that God is in you 
of a truth;" I. Cor. xiv. 24, 25. 

So also in public prayer, the minister pra}^s as the 
representative of the congregation, and the minds of 
the hearers are supposed to accompany the words of 
the speaker. If he utter the written prayer, and 
the congregation follow him in the same words, it 
is sufficiently obvious that the expression of the lip 
and the feeling of the heart, will often be in total 
dissonance. The obdurate sinner may be found ad- 
dressing an omnipresent Deity, in the language of 



OF THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY. 145 

contrition — the sorrowful and desponding spirit, in 
the voice of praise and thanksgiving — the happy 
and rejoicing believer, in the words of mourning 
and woe! Nor can it be considered that a less in- 
consistency prevails, when the prayer of the minis- 
ter is extemporaneous, but proceeds not from the 
spirit of the Lord, but from his own powers of in- 
vention and composition. The words which under 
such circumstances he may express, however satis- 
factory to his own mind, may often be in absolute 
discordance with the feelings and real condition of 
his hearers. Were we in our public assemblies for 
worship, to use addresses either to the people or 
to the Almighty, not prompted by his Spirit, but 
either previously written or extemporaneously com- 
posed, we should with our views of the subject, con- 
sider ourselves not as honouring the God of our 
fathers, but as making an unauthorized and impro- 
per use of his holy name. And we are persuaded, 
from long experience, that under that dispensation 
of religion into which we have been led, such a 
mode of conducting the administrations of the gos- 
pel, would greatly injure the life, and as greatly 
lessen the true efficacy of our christian worship. 

In confirmation of the principles which have now 
been stated, and as a farther proof that they legiti- 
mately arise out of divine institution, I have now to 
appeal to the numerous and plain examples of in- 
spired ministry, recorded in the Bible. 

Various instances are on record in that sacred 
volume, of ministry uttered either publicly or on 
private occasions of importance: and the prayers. 

T 



146 ON THE NATURE AND CHARACTER 

praises, and discourses, thus spoken, bear the cha- 
racter, not of compositions prepared before-hand 
through the exertions of human intellect, but of effu- 
sions flowing spontaneously from that divine Spirit 
who animated and impelled the speakers. When 
Joseph interpreted the dream of Pharoah; when 
the dying Jacob pronounced his blessing on his 
children and grand-children; when Moses sang aloud 
his song of rejoicing; and when he recited to the 
people the marvellous dealings of God with them; 
when Joshua also recounted the mercies of the 
Lord, and exhorted the Israelites to obedience; 
when Deborah and Barak uttered their triumphant 
hymn; when Hannah in the temple poured forth her 
thanksgiving aloud; when Samuel communicated 
the word of the Lord to Eli, and on another occa- 
sion pleaded the cause of God with the people ; 
when David sung his psalms of penitence, prophe- 
cy and praise,* and when his successor uttered his 
proverbs of wisdom and his thousand songs, I. Kings 
iv. 32 ; when Solomon, when Hezekiah, and when 
Ezra, lifted up their voices in audible supplication 



* From various statements contained in the recorded history of David, 
it may be collected that he sometimes uttered his prayers and psalms, be- 
fore they were committed to writing"; See H. Sam. vii. 18 — 29, xxii. xxiii. 
2. Nor can we doubt that the Spirit often led him in the first instance to 
write that sacred poetry, which was afterwards sung- both by himself and 
by others. While, however, it is evident that psalmody prevailed among 
the ancient Hebrews to a great extent, it is to be remembered that the 
songs which they introduced into their worship, were the songs of pro- 
phets and originated in direct inspiration. 

The psalms to which the earliest christians were accustomed, I conceive 
to have been often uttered without premeditation, and under the immedi- 
ate influence of the Holy Ghost. In two of his epistles, Paul describes 
them as "spiritual songs," Eph. v. 19, Col. iii. 16; and on another occa- 
sion lie numbers the "psalm" among those inspired administrations, which 
distinguished the public worship of primitive times : T. Cor. xiv. 26. 



OF THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY. 147 

before the assembled multitudes; when Elizabeth 
addressed with a loud voice the mother of her Lord, 
and when Mary responded with the voice of thanks- 
giving; when Zacharias praised the Lord who had 
" visited and redeemed his people ;" when John the 
Baptist proclaimed the personal presence and ap- 
proaching reign of the Messiah; when all these and 
many other individuals thus exercised the gift of 
ministry (as it would now be denominated,) there 
is every reason to believe (and in some of the in- 
stances alluded to, it is expressly declared,) that 
they spake as they were immediately moved by 
the Holy Ghost. 

Among the ancient Israelites, the duty which 
properly corresponds with that of the christian mi- 
nister, was not exercised by the Priests and Levites, 
whose office it was to perform the service practised 
in the temple, and to offer the sacrifices appointed 
by the law. It rather appertained to the prophets, 
who, at various periods of the Israelitish history, 
were a numerous body of men ; and were distin- 
guished from their countrymen, not by hereditary 
dignity or official appointment, but simply by the 
gifts of the Holy Spirit. These persons, as we 
find from a multitude of passages in their written 
works, were by no means exclusively engaged in 
predicting events to come, but were often sent 
forth to proclaim the judgments and mercies of the 
Lord, to warn the people, and to exhort them 
to faith, obedience, and holiness. The gift of 
;; prophecy," therefore, during the more ancient pe- 
riods of sacred history, frequently assumed the same 



148 ON THE NATURE AND CHARACTER 

character, as in the days of the apostle Paul, who 
described it as identical with the gift of preaching ; 
I. Cor. xiv. 3. Now whether the prophets exer- 
cised their gift, in predicting or in exhorting, it is 
on all hands allowed that their words were uttered 
under the direct influence of the Spirit of God. — 
They delivered not the productions of their own 
invention, but the messages of Jehovah. It was 
not they who spoke : it was the Lord who spoke 
by them. 

Very similar to the case of the prophets, was that 
of the apostles of Jesus Christ All christians allow- 
that the verbal ministrations of these servants of 
God were immediately inspired of the Holy Ghost. 
When our Lord sent forth his disciples to heal the 
sick and to preach the gospel, he said to them — 
"Ye shall be brought before governors and kings for 
my sake, for a testimony against them and the Gen- 
tiles. But when they deliver you up, take no 
thought how or what ye shall speak : for it shall be 
given you in that same hour what ye shall speak. — 
For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your 
Father which speaketh in you;" Matt. x. 18 — 20. 
On a subsequent occasion, immediately before his 
ascension, we read that Jesus opened the under- 
standing of the apostles " that they might under- 
stand the Scriptures," when he addressed them in 
the following manner; " Thus it is written, and thus 
it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the 
dead the third day : and that repentance and remis- 
sion of sins should be preached in his name, among 
all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And ye are 



OP THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY. 149 

witnesses of these things. And behold I send the 
promise of my Father upon you (i. e. the Spirit :) 
but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be 
endued with power from on high ;" Luke xxiv. 46 — 
49. In pursuance of this declaration, the apostles 
when gathered together on the day of Pentecost, 
were "filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to 
speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them 
utterance ;" Acts ii. 4. Paul in a very particular 
manner has explained the nature and declared the 
authority of his own preaching. " And I was with 
you," says he to the Corinthians, " in weakness and 
in fear, and in much trembling." And my speech 
and my preaching were not with enticing words of 
man's wisdom, but in trembling. And my speech 
and my preaching were not with enticing words of 
man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and 
of power : that your faith should not stand in the 
wisdom of men, but in the power of God — " Again, 
"Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, 
but the Spirit which is of God ; that we might know 
the things that are freely given to us of God; 
which things also we speak, not in the words which 
maris wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost 
teacheth;" I. Cor. ii. 3 — 5, 12, 13. 

But the immediate operation of the Spirit, as pro- 
ductive of ministry, was by no means confined, un- 
der the gospel dispensation, to the apostles of Je- 
sus Christ. There are in the book of Acts a varie- 
ty of passages, which prove that the gifts of the 
Holy Ghost were poured out in great abundance 
upon others also. On that memorable day of Pen- 



150 ON THE NATURE AND CHARACTER 

tecost, more especially, the Spirit descended from 
above, not only on the apostles, but on the whole 
company of their followers. Then according to the 
express declaration of Peter, was accomplished the 
prophecy of Joel ; " And it shall come to pass in the 
last days (saith God,) I will pour out my Spirit 
upon all flesh ; and your sons and your daughters 
shall prophesy, and your young men shall see vi- 
sions, and your old men shall dream dreams : and 
on my servants and on my handmaidens will I pour 
out in those days of my Spirit, and they shall pro- 
phesy ; Joel ii. 28, 39, Acts ii. 16—18. 

The same truth may be without difficulty elicit- 
ed from various passages of Paul's epistles ; for he 
often mentions the gifts of direct inspiration, with 
which his own converts were endowed by the Lord 
Jesus. On one occasion particularly he reproves 
the Corinthians for the misapplication of the gift 
of tongues ; and gives them very explicit directions 
respecting the manner in which that gift and others 
of a similar nature, were to be exercised. "If there- 
fore the whole church become together into one place, 
and all speak with tongues, and there come in those 
that are unlearned, or unbelievers, will they not say 
that ye are mad? But if all prophesy, and there 
come in one that believeth not, or one unlearned, 
he is convinced of all; he is judged (or discerned) 
of all. And thus are the secrets of his heart made 
manifest; and" so falling down on his face, he will 
worship God, and report that God is in you of a 
truth. How is it then, brethren ? When ye coma 
together* every one of you hath a psalm, hath a doc- 






OF THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY. 151 

trine, hath a tongue, hath a revelation, hath an in- 
terpretation. Let all things be done to edifying. — 
If any man speak in an unknown tongue, let it be 
by two, or at the most by three, and that by course; 
and let one interpret. But if there be no interpre- 
ter, let him keep silence in the church; and let him 
speak to himself and to God. Let the prophets speak 
two or three, and let the others judge. If any 
thing be revealed to another that sitteth by, let the 
first hold his peace. For ye may all prophesy one 
by one, that all may learn and all may be comfort- 
ed. And the spirits of the prophets are subject to 
the prophets : for God is not the author of confusion 
but of peace, as in all churches of the saints ; I, 
Cor. xiv. 23—33. 

This remarkable passage of Scripture, as well as 
the whole chaptei of which it forms a part, plainly 
relates, as is universally allowed by commentators, 
to the conduct of the early christian converts in 
their public assemblies for divine worship ; nor 
does there, I believe, exist any other document 
which throws the same degree of light upon that 
interesting topic. The passage naturally suggests 
a few remarks. 

It is to be observed in the first place, that the 
ministry which the apostle describes as exercised 
on these occasions, was not prepared or premedi- 
tated, but arose out of the direct impulses of the 
Spirit of God. That this was the character of the 
gift of tongues, or of ministry in foreign languages, 
by which the original preachers of the gospel were 
miraculously enabled to promulgate the truth among 



152 ON THE NATURE AND CHARACTER 

all nations, cannot be denied. Nor is it less clear, 
that the prophesying which the apostle so much 
commends as profitable for consolation, conviction, 
and edification, and which comprehended not mere- 
ly predicting, but more especially preaching, pray- 
ing, and singing praises, was uttered under the di- 
rect and extraordinary influences of the Holy Ghost; 
for it is in reference to those very influences, that 
the public ministry alluded to, is thus denominated 
by the apostle. It was " prophecy" for no other 
reason than because it was directly inspired.* Kop- 
pius, a learned biblical critic, remarks that this 
word, as employed by the apostle, describes a facul- 
ty possessed " by a certain description of chris- 
tians in the apostolic church, who being in a singu- 
lar manner affected by divine power, were accus- 
tomed to speak publicly in their assemblies for 
worship ; uttered prophecies ; laid open the secret 
designs of men; prayed with a remarkable impetus 
and fervour of mind ; rose up under the sudden im- 
pulse of the Holy Spirit, to teach, exhort, and con- 
sole ; and sung hymns which bore the stamp of a 

* " Prophecy was another spiritual gift which St. Paul hath defined (I. 
Cor. xiv. 3.) to be * a speaking- unto men for edification, and exhortation, 
and comfort.' 

" I have never found prophesying used in the Old or New Testament for 
mere explaining" the Scriptures, or teaching- without inspiration. But it 
appeareth to me to be always meant of speaking or acting by inspiration. 
Sometimes it is to be understood of foretelling future events, such as no 
human sagacity could have foreseen . But that is not always its signification. 

" In Scripture, prophesying is sometimes to be understood as a delivering 
by inspiration of some doctrine, direction, or exhortation, more peculiarly 
suited to the state of that church, or of some part of it. At other times 
praying by inspiration, or singing psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs, 
come under the general name of prophesying. For all these were perform- 
ed in the primitive church by inspiration, and were a speaking not only 
unto God, but unto men also ; and that for edification, or exhortation, or 
comfort ;" See Benson's Essay on the Public Worship of tiie first Christians 
— in his Work on the Epistles, 4to. Ed. vol. i. p. 699. 



OF THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY. 153 

divine origin." See Excurs. iii. in Ep. ad Ephes. 
So also Schlensner in voc, Grotius and other Com- 
mentators. 

It appears in the second place, that these gifts 
of the Holy Spirit, although truly of a divine origin, 
were capable, through unwatchfulness or perverse- 
ness, of being misapplied and abused ; and were in 
some measure placed under the control of the per- 
sons on whom they were bestowed. The " spirits 
of the prophets" were " subject to the prophets," 
and to preserve a right order in the use of their 
ministry, it was necessary for them to cultivate in- 
dividually a sound and enlightened judgment, and a 
tender regard for others. Such a state of mind 
could in fact be maintained, only through a watch- 
ful dependence upon the Lord, who is the source 
of wisdom and of all spiritual illumination. Under 
his guidance and influence every man would find 
his own place ; all might then prophesy and all be 
edified in their turn, and thus it would be made 
manifest to all the churches of the saints, that God, 
the inspirer of his chosen servants, " is not the au- 
thor of confusion, but of peace." 

Lastly the reader cannot fail to notice, that the 
ministry, which at that early period was exercised 
in christian assemblies for worship, was not the 
prayer and lecture of any appointed individual ; but 
consisted in the unsolicited and spontaneous effu- 
sions of many ; — of all who were impelled by the 
spirit, and to whom the word of the Lord was re- 
vealed on the occasion. 



154 ON THE NATURE AND CHARACTER 

Such were the principles by which were regula- 
ted the preaching and praying of the earliest chris- 
tians in their assemblies for worship; and such 
precisely are the principles on which, in their oivn 
religious meetings, the Society of Friends profess to 
conduct the ministry of the gospel. 

An opinion, I am well aware, is commonly enter- 
tained, that those extraordinary endowments of the 
Holy Spirit, which distinguished the period when 
Christianity was first promulgated, have long since 
ceased to be enjoyed in the church of Christ; and 
in order to complete the present argument, it is 
necessary for me to state the grounds on which I 
am persuaded that this opinion, in the full extent to 
which it has been carried, is by no means correct. 

It may indeed be readily allowed that several of 
the endowments in question, such as the gifts of 
healing and of tongues, were of a nature absolutely 
miraculous. As such, they were peculiarly adapted 
to the great work of establishing in the world a re- 
ligion, which was not only new to almost the whole 
of mankind, but was directly opposed to their fa- 
vourite maxims and habits. That object being now 
effected, it is by no means surprising, according to 
my apprehension, that such gifts should be with- 
drawn from the church : and there does not appear 
to be any reason for supposing, that under the pre- 
sent circumstances of Christianity, they are likely 
to be called into action. Nor are we to forget, that 
many of the original promulgators of the gospel, 
on whom this work of establishing a new religion 
devolved, and several of whom were employed in 



OF THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY. 155 

composing those records of divine truth which are 
of permanent and universal authority, were gifted 
in afar more eminent degree with divine inspiration, 
than now appears to be the case with any of the 
Lord's servants. But, although these admissions 
are to be freely made, there are good reasons for 
the conviction entertained by Friends, that the im- 
mediate operations of the Spirit, as productive of 
ministry, continue, to this very hour, to be bestowed 
on the followers of Christ. 

In the first place, there is a great probability a 
priori that such would be the fact. Since, even 
under the dispensation of the law, the ministry was 
prompted and exercised by means of those imme- 
diate operations, it is altogether inconsistent with 
the analogy of divine truth, to suppose that, under 
the more spiritual dispensation of the gospel, the 
church should be deprived of so important and 
salutary a privilege. Again, it is to be remembered 
that the "prophesying" of which we are speaking 
was intended, as the apostle declares, for the great 
purposes of exhortation, edification, and comfort; I. 
Cor. xiv. 3. Now, since exhortation, edification, 
and comfort, are required at the present day, as 
much as they were in the times of the apostles, and 
since the Great Head of the church is ever willing 
and able to supply the need of his servants, there 
are obvious reasons for our believing, that the gift 
which was directed to those purposes, would still 
be permitted to operate. 

The strong antecedent probability now adverted 
to, may be sufficient to throw the onus probandi 



156 ON THE NATURE AND CHARACTER 

upon those who deny the continued existence of 
the gift of inspired ministry. Nevertheless, it is 
desirable for us to remark, in the second place, that 
this antecedent probability is confirmed by certain 
plain promises contained in the Holy Scriptures. — 
The prediction of Joel, as it is cited by the apostle 
Peter, declares that an abundant measure of this 
very gift, should be poured forth on the servants of 
the Lord in the last days ;" Acts ii. 17. # From the 
comparison of various other passages of the Bible, 
it appears that by "the last days" are intended the 
" times of Christianity" — " the times of the last dis- 
pensation" — and it will scarcely be denied, that 
these expressions include the whole of that dispen- 
sation — its career and termination, as well as its 
commencement ; comp. Isa. ii. 2, Heb. i. 2, 1. Pet. i. 
20, 1. John ii. 18. It is most probable, therefore, 
that the promise of the Lord, through his prophet, 
did not relate exclusively to the events of the day 
of Pentecost, but is rather to be interpreted as de- 
scribing some of the permanent characteristics of 
the christian dispensation. 

Such a view of this celebrated prophecy appears 
to have been entertained by the apostle who cited 
it. After explaining to the people that the won- 
derful events of the day of Pentecost were effected 
by the Son of God, who had " received of the Fa- 
ther the promise of the Holy Ghost," and who had 
shed forth that which they then saw and heard, he 

* In Joel ii. 28, we read, "And it shall come to pass afterwards" — He- 
brew » nrw. Kimchi, the celebrated Jewish commentator, informs us 
that this phrase signifies In the last days,- and it is well known that by « the 
last days" the Jews denote the times of the Messiah. 



OP THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY. 157 

proceeds to declare the continuance and universali- 
ty among believers, of the same divine influence. — 
" Repent and be baptized every one of you," said 

he "and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy 

Ghost : for the promise is unto you, and to your 
children, and to all that are afar off, even as many 
as the Lord our God shall call;" Acts ii. 39, 39. — 
This passage has been cited on a former occasion 
to prove that the Holy Spirit was not to be with- 
drawn from the church, as a guide to morals. Now 
when we look at the circumstances under which 
these words were spoken, and consider their imme- 
diate connexion with the prediction of Joel and 
with its fulfilment, we can scarcely fail to perceive 
the evidence which they also afford, that the Holy 
Ghost was not to be withdrawn from the church as 
a guide to prophesying. It was probably in refer- 
ence to both these spiritual operations — the one 
general, the other peculiar — that our Lord himself 
when he promised to his disciples (who then repre- 
sented his church militant) the effusion of the Holy 
Ghost, declared that this divine Teacher and Moni- 
tor should abide with them "forever;" that is, I pre- 
sume, through the whole course of the christian dis- 
pensation; John xiv. 16. 

Lastly, an appeal may be safely made to the per- 
sons addressed in this work, when it is asserted that 
the sentiments of Friends on the present subject 
are confirmed by their own experience. That So- 
ciety has for more than a century and a half, been 
acting, in reference to the ministry, on the princi- 
ples which have now been stated, and they certain 



158 ON THE NATURE AND CHARACTER 

ly have never found reason for considering those 
principles either untrue or inefficacious. Although 
we are very far indeed from pretending to those 
higher degrees of inspiration, which for peculiar and 
specific purposes were bestowed on some of the 
immediate followers of Jesus, we know that there 
are individuals amongst us who have received that 
gift of prophecy, which is profitable for " exhorta- 
tion, edification and comfort :" that these persons 
are incapable of exercising their gift in their own 
strength, or at any stated periods ; but that as they 
are preserved in watchful dependence upon their 
Holy Leader, they are sometimes really anointed 
for the service ; and that on such occasions, their 
prayers and their preaching, however little adorned 
with the enticing words of man's wisdom, are evi- 
dently accompanied with life and power.* 

* In connexion with the subject of the present section, I wish to present 
to the reader's attention, a very curious passage selected from the Pastor 
of Hermas, a work probably composed during the first century after Christ, 
and although in many respects a fanciful composition, held in considerable 
repute among- many of the early christians. 

THE ELEVENTH COMMAND. 
That the Spirits and Prophets are to be tried by their works, and of a 

two-fold Spirit. 

He showed me certain men sitting" upon benches, and one sitting in a 
chair; and he said unto me, seest thou those who sit upon the benches ? 
Sir, said I, I see them. He answered; they are the faithful; and he who 
sits in the chair, is an earthly spirit. For he cometh not into the assembly 
of the faithful, but avoids it. But he joins himself to the doubtful and 
empty; and prophesies to them in corners and hidden places; and pleases 
them by speaking according to all the desires of their hearts. For he, pla- 
cing himself among empty vessels, is not broken, but the one fitteth the 
other. But when he cometh into the company of just men, who are full 
of the Spirit of God, and they pray unto the Lord; that man is emptied, 
because that earthly spirit flies from him, and he is dumb, and cannot 
speak any thing. As if in a store-house you shall stop up wine and oil; 
and among those vessels shall place an empty jar; and shall afterwards 
come to open it, you shall find it empty as you stopped it up: so those 
empty prophets, when they come among the spirits of the just, are found 
to be such as thev came. 



OP THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY. 159 

In reviewing the principal particulars of the pre- 
sent chapter, the reader will observe that the influ- 
ences of the Holy Spirit are both general and ex- 
traordinary — that the former effect our conversion 
and sanctification, and as such, are essential to sal- 
vation and common to all the Lord's children — that 
the latter are not intended for the salvation of 
those to whom they are imparted, but for the uses 

II. I said, how then shall a man be able to discern them ? Consider what 
I am going to say concerning' both kinds of men; and as I speak unto thee, 
so shalt thou prove the prophet of God, and the false prophet. And first 
try the man who hath the Spirit of God; because the Spirit which is from 
above is humble, and quiet ; and departs from all wickedness,- and from the 
tain desires of the present world; and makes himself more humble than all 
men,- and answers to none when he is asked; nor to every one singly.- for the 
Spirit of God doth not speak to a man when he will, but when God pleases. 
When, therefore, a man who hath the Spirit of God shall come into the church 
of the righteous, who have the faith of God, and they pray unto the Lord ,- 
then the holy angel of God Jills that man with the blessed Spirit, and he speaks 
in the congregation as he is moved, of God. Thus therefore is the Spirit of 
God known, because whosoever speaketh by the Spirit of God, speaketh as the 
Lord will. 

III. Hear now concerning" the earthly spirit, which is empty and foolish, 
and without virtue. And first of all, the man who is supposed to have the 
Spirit (whereas he hath it not in reality,) exalteth himself, and desires to 
have the first seat, and is wicked and full of words; and spends his time in 
pleasure, and in all manner of voluptuousness: and receives the reward of 
his divination; which if he receive not, he does not divine. Should the Spirit 
of God receive reward and divine ? It doth not become a prophet of God 
so to do. Thus you see the life of each of these kind of prophets. Where- 
fore, prove that man by his life and works, who saith that he hath the Holy 
Spirit. And believe the Spirit which comes from God, and has power as 
such. But believe not the earthly and empty spirit, which is from the devil, 
in whom there is no faith nor virtue. Hear now the similitude which I am 
about to speak unto thee. Take a stone, and throw it up towards heaven; 
or take a spout of water, and mount it up thither-ward; and see if thou 
canst reach unto heaven. Sir, said I, how can this be done ? For neither 
of those thing's which you have mentioned is possible to be done. And he 
answered; Therefore as these things cannot be done, so is the earthly 
spirit without virtue, and without effect. Understand yet further the 
power which cometh from above in this similitude. The grains of hail that 
drop down are exceeding small; and yet when they fall upon the head of 
a man, how do they cause pain to it! And again; consider the droppings 
of a house; how the little drops falling upon the earth work a hollow in the 
stones. So in like manner the least things which come from above, and fall 
upon the earth, have great force, Wherefore join thyself to this Spirit, which 
has power; and depart from the other, which is empty; Archbishop Wake's 
Version of the Apostolic Fathers, p. 255. 



160 ON THE NATURE AND CHARACTER 

of the church; and are variously bestowed upon 
various persons — that any one gift of the Spirit 
such as that of " the ministry" appertains only to a 
selected few — that while the faculty of ministry 
(called by the apostle, prophecy) is verbally acknow- 
ledged to be a gift of the Spirit, this doctrine is, to 
a great extent, practically disregarded among the 
professors of Christianity — that it is the principle 
of the Society of Friends to admit no ministry in 
connexion with the worship of God, but such as is 
considered to arise immediately from divine influ- 
ence — that their opinions on this subject, as w r ell as 
those respecting typical ordinances, are founded 
upon that part of the divine law, which prescribes 
that God being a Spirit, should be worshipped spi- 
ritually — that in order, moreover, to be accurately 
applicable to the mental condition of the hearers, 
the ministry must be prompted and ordered by Him 
who alone searcheth the reins and the hearts — that 
the examples of preaching and public prayer re- 
corded in the Bible, have in general the character 
of unpremeditated effusions, flowing immediately 
from the Spirit of truth and righteousness — that 
such, more particularly, was the prophesying exer- 
cised in their assemblies for worship by the primi- 
tive christians — finally, that analogy, Scripture, and 
experience, unite in bearing evidence, that the 
immediate influences of the Spirit, as productive of 
such administrations, were not to be withdrawn 
from the church on earth, and that they continue 
to operate to this very hour. 

To conclude: — if the weapons wielded by the 



OF THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY. 16 1 

Lord's servants in the cause of righteousness are to 
be " mighty for the pulling down of strong holds," 
they must be spiritual and not carnal : if the " preach- 
ing of the cross" is to be the " power of God," it 
must be divine in its origin : if the ministry of the 
gospel of Christ, is to enliven and cleanse the re- 
cipients, it must be derived with true simplicity from 
the Source of life and holiness. Observation may 
serve to convince us, that these sentiments are 
gradually extending their influence among true 
christians. "All the minister's efforts will be vanity 
and worse than vanity," said a late enlightened cler- 
gyman of the Church of England, " if he have not 
unction. Unction must come down from heaven, 
and spread a savour, and relish, and feeling, over 
his ministry," See CeciVs Remains, p. 12. I am 
persuaded that there are many pious ministers of 
various denominations, whose hearts will respond 
to such a declaration, and who are more and more 
convinced that in the exercise of their gift, they 
must no longer rely on human learning or intellect- 
ual effort, but rather on the powerful visitations of 
that sacred influence which, when it is withheld, no 
man can command, and when it is poured forth, no 
man can rightly stay. Under such circumstances, 
it is plainly very important, that Friends should be 
faithful in maintaining their principle on the sub- 
ject, in all its vigour and in all its purity ; and that 
they should continue, without wavering, to uphold 
in the church the highest standard respecting the 
nature and origin of true christian ministry. May 
we, therefore, on the one hand watch unto prayer, 

x 



162 CHARACTER OF THE CHRISTIAx\ MINISTRY. 

that our preaching and praying may never degene- 
rate into the expression of words without life ; and 
on the other hand, may we be diligent in the use of 
the gifts committed to us, and exercise a still firmer 
confidence in that divine anointing, which can im- 
part, even to the foolishness of preaching, an au- 
thority not to be gainsay ed ! 



CHAPTER VI. 



ON THE SELECTION, PREPARATION, AND APPOINTMENT 
OF THE MINISTERS OF THE GOSPEL, 

IN the preceding chapter I have endeavoured to 
explain in what manner the sentiments of Friends, 
respecting the true nature and character of the 
christian ministry, are founded on that well known 
principle of the divine law, that God, who is a Spi- 
rit, must be worshipped spiritually. Now the sen- 
timents of Friends respecting the steps which pre- 
cede the exercise of the ministry — respecting the 
pecuniary remuneration of preachers — respecting 
the public administrations of females — and respect- 
ing silence in worship — will severally be found in- 
separably connected with the doctrine, that in or- 
der properly to consist with divine worship, the 
ministry must arise out of the immediate impulses 
of the Holy Spirit. These peculiarities therefore 
may be considered as all equally arising (whether 
directly or indirectly) out of the same essential 
principle of the divine law. The reader's attention 
will, in the present chapter, be directed to the steps 
which precede the exercise of the ministry of the 
gospel. 

The standard upheld by any body of christians 
in reference to the selection, preparation, and ap- 
pointment of the ministers of the gospel, will ever 
be found to coincide with their standard respecting 



164 ON THE SELECTION, PREPARATION, 

the nature and character of the ministry itself, 
when brought into exercise. Those who are sat- 
isfied with a ministry which requires for its per- 
formance nothing superior to the powers of man, 
will look for nothing superior to those powers, in 
the selection, preparation, and appointment, of the 
individuals who are to minister. Those who are 
accustomed to regard the ministry as the offspring 
partly of divine influence, and partly of human study, 
will indeed consider a divine call essential to the 
object, but they will not, for the most part, admit 
such a call to be sufficient, without the addition of 
preparatory intellectual efforts, nor without the in- 
terposition of the authority of man. Those, lastly, 
whose principle it is to admit no ministry but such 
as flows immediately from the Spirit of truth, must 
of necessity leave the whole work of selection, pre- 
paration, and appointment, to the Lord himself. 

In order to develop this general rule with some 
degree of precision, it may be desirable to examine 
in the first place, how far it is exemplified by the 
known practices of the Anglican church, and of the 
generality of English protestant dissenters. I trust, 
however, it will be clearly understood by the reader, 
that in attempting such an examination, I have no 
intention to throw discredit on any denomination of 
professing christians; much less to discourage the 
sincere in heart from the pursuit of those duties, 
which appertain to their own condition and situa- 
tion in the church universal. My object is simply 
to illustrate the subject on which I am treating, and 
to introduce in a clear and explicit manner, the sen- 



AND APPOINTMENT, OF MINISTERS. 1155 

timents entertained on that subject by the Society 
of Friends. 

When the Bishop of the Anglican church ordains 
to the priesthood, he lays his hand on the. head of 
the individual to be ordained, and says, "Receive 
the Holy Ghost, for the office and work of a priest 
in the church of God, now committed unto thee by 
the imposition of our hands." Here is a plain re- 
cognition of the doctrine, that the person ordained 
is to exercise his ministry by means of the influ- 
ence of the Holy Ghost ; and it is in perfect coinci- 
dence with such a sentiment, that the candidate for 
the sacred office, in the same church, professes that 
he is " inwardly moved" to the assumption of it, 
" by the Holy Ghost"— that he is " called" to the 
work " according to the will of our Lord Jesus 
Christ." That there are many among the minis- 
ters of this denomination, who, in the exercise of 
their ministry, really depend in a great measure on 
a divine influence, and w r ho would by no means 
have undertaken the work of the gospel, had they 
not apprehended, that they were inwardly moved 
to such a duty by the Holy Ghost, my own know- 
ledge of such individuals enables me freely to allow. 
On the other hand it will not be disputed, that 
much of the ministry actually employed within the 
borders of the Established Church, is the produc- 
tion of human effort ; that it is universally under- 
stood to have no other origin; and that nothing 
whatever of immediate inspiration, in connexion 
with the work, is either expected by the preacher, 
or required by his hearers. The multitude who 



166 ON THE SELECTION, PREPARATION, 

are accustomed to this low standard, respecting the 
nature and character of the ministry itself, are ha- 
bituated to a standard equally low, in relation to the 
steps which precede the assumption of the sacred 
office. First, with respect to selection : the choice 
of the individual who is afterwards to proclaim to 
others the glad tidings of salvation, is very usually 
understood to rest with his parents, with his friends, 
or with himself. Secondly, with respect to pre- 
paration: nothing is required for the most part, 
but the passing of a few years at one of the univer- 
sities, in order to the attainment of mathematical 
and classical literature, and of a certain moderate 
stock of theological knowledge. Lastly, with re- 
spect to appointment : the personal authorit}^ of the 
ordaining bishop is, for this purpose, generally 
deemed to be all-sufficient. Were it true, that by 
the laying on of his hands, the bishop of modern 
times, like the apostle of the earliest church, was 
miraculously enabled to communicate to the can- 
didate for sacred orders, the gift of the Holy Ghost, 
the most spiritual christian could advance no ob- 
jection to episcopal ordination. But since this is 
not true, and since it is perfectly known not to be 
true, the ceremony plainly resolves itself into an 
appointment to the office of the ministry by the 
bishop only ; and, with the exception of those in- 
dividuals who are really called to the work by the 
inward motion of the Holy Ghost, the ministers 
thus ordained must be considered as undertaking 
the office of a preacher, upon the sole authority of 
that appointment. 



AND APPOINTMENT, OF MINISTERS. 167 

Among the generality of protestant dissenters in 
this country, much less of form is observed in con- 
ducting the administrations of the gospel, than is 
customary in the Anglican church. The written 
sermon as well as the printed liturgy are for the 
most part discarded, and make way for the extem- 
pore discourse and prayer. While, however, it ap- 
pears to be an opinion generally prevalent among 
English protestant dissenters, that the faculty of 
praying aloud and§)reaching is the gift of the Spi- 
rit, I believe there are few of their ministers who 
hesitate either to prepare themselves for the work 
by previous study and reflection, or to preach and 
pray at periods appointed by others or fixed upon 
by themselves. With this mixed standard, respect- 
ing the nature of the ministry itself, the practices 
of these christians, with regard to the preceding 
measures, will be found exactly to correspond. 
While the necessity of a divine call and the pre- 
paration of grace in the heart are generally admit- 
ted, the first selection of the dissenting minister de- 
pends, in great measure, on the church to which he 
belongs. When any young person is considered as 
affording a sufficient evidence of suitability for the 
ministry, in point of conduct and talent as well as 
of a general call into such a field of labour, he is 
mostly recommended by the church (with his own 
consent and that of his friends) to some preparato- 
ry academy. There his attention is directed to the 
acquirement of literature, and to those branches of 
study, more especially, which bear immediately on 
his great object. Thus prepared, he is invited by 



168 6n the selection, preparation, 

some congregation to come and preach the gospel 
among them; and finally, when both parties are 
satisfied, several dissenting ministers, who have 
been already established in their office, unite in or- 
daining him as an authorized preacher, and as the 
minister of that congregation. This may, I believe, 
be considered an accurate description of the course 
adopted with respect to the selection, preparation, 
and appointment, of ministers, by some of the lead- 
ing bodies of dissenters in this ofuntry; and among 
many others to whom such a description will not 
precisely apply, the same principles are, neverthe- 
less, recognized and enforced — namely that a divine 
call and the work of grace are in the first place in- 
dispensable ; but that to these are to be added the 
application of outward means, and the interposition 
of human authority. 

Before we proceed to consider the principles and 
practices of Friends in reference to the present 
branch of our subject, it may be well for us to ex- 
amine whether any sanction is given in the Holy 
Scriptures to that practice so general among mo- 
dern christians — the human ordination of the minis- 
ters of the gospel. 

That the apostles and some others of the earliest 
christians were enabled by the laying on of their 
hands to draw down upon individuals, in a miracu- 
lous manner, the gifts of the Holy Spirit, has been 
already remarked; Acts viii. 18, I. Tim. iv. 14. — 
But it will be allowed by the impartial reader, that 
the human ordination of preachers when connected 
with this extraordinary power, resolves itself in 



AND APPOINTMENT, OF MINISTERS. 169 

point of fact into a divine appointment, and affords 
no authority for such ordination, when the power 
ceases to exist. There are, however, two passages 
of the New Testament, in which we read of human 
ordination, independently of any miraculous com- 
munication of the Holy Spirit. We are informed 
in the book of Acts, that when Paul and Barnabas 
revisited the churches which they had planted at 
Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch, they "ordained them 
elders (or presbj'ters) in every church," Acts xiv. 
23 ; and on another occasion, Paul thus addresses 
himself to Titus, " For this cause left I thee in Crete, 
that thou shouldest set in order the things that are 
wanting, and ordain elders (or presbyters) in every 
city :" Tit. ch. i. 5. 

Here, on the supposition that the example of Paul 
and Titus may be safely followed by uninspired 
persons, we find a direct authority for the human 
ordination or appointment of christian presbyters ; 
and since the office of preaching is understood 
among many modern christians, to be inseparably 
connected with the station of a presbyter, the in- 
ference is easily deduced that the human ordination 
of the preachers of the gospel is authorized in the 
New Testament. But I apprehend that such an 
inference is founded upon an original error of no 
slight importance. In the times of primitive Chris- 
tianity, there was no necessary connexion between 
the gift of preaching or prophecy, and the offices 
of bishops, presbyters, and deacons. The four- 
teenth chapter of the first epistle of Paul to the 
Corinthians affords abundant evidence, as we have 



170 ON THE SELECTION, PREPARATION, 

already found occasion to notice, that when the 
earliest christians assembled together for the pur- 
pose of divine worship, it was not the bishop or 
overseer, nor the presbyter or elder, nor the deacon 
or subordinate manager, who preached and prayed, 
ex officio, in the congregation. Being for the most 
part persons of a spiritual character, they might in- 
deed be frequently included in the number of those 
who preached and prayed in the churches ; but the 
work of the ministry was at that time restricted to 
no appointed individuals ; it devolved promiscuous- 
ly upon all persons — whether men or women — 
whether governors or governed — to whom the 
word of God was revealed, and who were visited by 
the fresh and heavenly influences of the Spirit of 
prophecy. 

The office of the Bishops or Overseers, and that 
of the Presbyters or Elders was, in the earliest 
christian churches, identical. The Overseers were 
denominated Elders, and the Elders, Overseers.* — 
Their situation in the body corresponded with that 
of the chief Rulers of the ancient Jewish synagogues. 
" It was their duty" says the elaborate Schleusner, 
" to rule the church of Christ, but not to teach : 
more especially, to preside over matters of wor- 
ship ; to administer the sacraments (or at least the 
Eucharist;) to make decrees in ecclesiastical af- 
fairs; to provide assistance for the poor and the 

* Phil. i. 1. "Paul and Timotheus, &c to all the saints in Christ 

Jesus which are at Philippi with the bishops and deacons." Theodoret 
in his note upon this passage says, "He calls the presbyters, bishops; 
for at that period they were called by tyoth those names ;" bo also Theo-» 

phylact. 



AND APPOINTMENT, OP MINISTERS. 171 

sick: to maintain in the church integrity of doc- 
trine and sanctity of manners, and to settle the dif- 
ferences which arose among christians."* This 
able critic appears to have been somewhat hasty in 
excluding from the offices of the Bishops and Pres- 
byters the duty of teaching. The gift of teaching 
— a gift which is sometimes distinguished from that 
of preaching or prophecy — does not, indeed, appear 
to have been universal among them ; but the apos- 
tle, in his general directions respecting the charac- 
ter and qualifications of the Bishop or Overseer, 
nevertheless recommends that he should be "apt to 
teach," I. Tim. iii. 2; and again, that he should 
" be able by sound doctrine (or teaching) both to 
exhort and to convince (or rather to refute) the 
gainsayers ;" Tit. i. 9. But although the Elders and 
Overseers of early Christianity, as the spiritual go- 
vernors and appointed guardians of the flock, who 
were to protect their followers from the encroach- 
ment of false doctrine, and of every root of bitter- 
ness, were often called upon in the exercise of their 
christian authority, to advise, instruct, exhort, and ar- 
gue ; they were not (like the Bishops and Presbyters 
of modern times) necessarily ministers of the gospel. 
Between the public preaching and praying prac- 
tised in assemblies for worship, and the offices of 
these persons, there does not appear to have been 
any indispensable, peculiar, or official, connexion.! 

* See Schleusner in voc. Trgu-Cwrtgos. 

f In the Jewish Synagogues, which were probably in some respects the 
patterns of the early christian assemblies for worship, the duty of preach- 
ing- does not appear to have devolved on any appointed officer. The of- 
ficers of the synagogue were,j$rs£ the Rulers, who corresponded with the 



172 ON THE SELECTION, PREPARATION, 

So also the deacon of the early christian church 
was not officially a preacher. His office probably 
embraced a variety of subordinate services, but it 

christian elders and bishops: they governed the church and regulated the 
order of divine service. Secondly, the Sheliach Zibbor, or angel of the 
congregation, who read the forms of prayer. Thirdly, the Chozenim or 
Ispectors, who appear to have answered to the christian deacons: it was 
their duty to keep every thing belonging to their place of worship in its 
proper order; to correct those who misread the Holy Scriptures, &x. — 
Fourthly, the interpreter, who translated into vernacular Syriac, the por- 
tion of Scripture which had been previously read in Hebrew. The les- 
sons of Scripture were divided into seven parts, and read by seven per- 
sons, most of whom were selected from the congregation at large, by one 
of the Rulers. If the reader desired it, he was at liberty to expound: and 
persons who were totally destitute of office in the church, were accustom- 
ed to avail themselves of the opportunity thus afforded them, for preach- 
ing to the people. Such was very frequently the case with our Saviour 
liimself, who taught in the synagogues throughout Galilee and Judea; and 
also with the apostle Paul, as is plainly recorded in the book of Acts. ch. 
ix. 20, xiii. 5, 15, xviii. 19. Now if there were no officers appointed for 
the purpose of preaching in the Jewish synagogue, it is very improbable 
that there should be any such officers in the early christian assemblies, 
for worship, which probably differed from the synagogues only in being 
conducted on a far purer and more spiritual system,- See Prideaux Con.fol. 
Ed. i. 306. 

Since the Presbyters, Bishops, and Deacons, in the early christian church 
must have been selected as persons of an eminently spiritual character, we 
may presume that many of them, like Timothy and Titus, were distin- 
guished by the gift of prophecy or preaching-. And since they were at 
the same time possessed of office and authority in the church, the errone- 
ous doctrine might very easily arise (as the spirituality of the church de- 
clined,) that they alone might preach. At how early a period the change 
took place from the congregational administrations described by the apos- 
tle Paul in I Cor. xiv. to the modern system of pulpit lectures, it is impos- 
sible now to ascertain., The extract given from Hermas, in a note upon 
the preceding chapter, may suffice to show that the original practice of 
the church in this respect, continued to be maintained in the latter part of 
the first century; and I observe that Polycarp (A. D. 107) in his descrip- 
tion of the duties of Presbyters and Deacons, makes no allusion whatever 
to their preaching; but speaks of them only as the superintendents and 
managers of ecclesiastical discipline; Ep. ad Philipp. cap. v. et vi. In the 
following curious passage of his epistle to the Philadelphians, Ignatius, 
(A. D. 107) describes the divine origin of his own ministry. "I exhorted 
you, when I was with you, in a loud voice to obey the Bishop, the Presby- 
ters, and the Deacons; and some persons suspected that when I thus ad- 
dressed you, I was previously aware of the divisions wdiich existed among 
you. But he is my witness for whom I am in bonds, that I knew it nol 
from any man, but the Spirit preached by me, saying in tliis wise, &.c." cap, 
7. Justin Martyr (A. D. 133,) in his dialogue with Trypho the Jew, de- 
clares the continued existence of the gifts of prophecy, and that these gifts 
were exercised by both men and women; p. 308, Ed. Paris, 1636, Benson, 
vol. i. p- 624. Lastly, Irenrcas, bishop of Lyons, (A. D. 178) de- 



AND APPOINTMENT, OF MINISTERS. 173 

is supposed to have been principally directed to the 
care of the sick, and to the management and distri- 
bution of the funds raised in any church, for the 
maintenance of the poor.* 

On the whole, then, it may be allowed that the 
human ordination or appointment of Elders, Over- 
seers, and Deacons, (provided that it be effected 
under the influence of devout feelings, and of a 
sound and enlightened judgment) is by no means 
inconsistent with the true order of the christian 
church. Such officers are nominated and appoint- 
ed by their brethren, in the Society of Friends. 
But it by no means follows from such an allowance, 
that man is at liberty to ordain or appoint the preach- 
ers of the gospel of Christ. 

Having premised these observations respecting 
Bishops, Presbyters, and Deacons, we may proceed 
to apply the general rule stated in the commence- 
ment of the present disquisition, to the known views 
and practices of the Society of Friends. In the 
former chapter, their sentiments respecting the true 
nature and character of the christian ministry have 
been fully detailed; and it has been stated, that they 
admit no preaching or audible praying in their as- 
semblies for worship, but such as they deem to be 
prompted by the immediate influence of the Holy 
Spirit. Since, therefore, the ministry, according to 

scribes the spiritual gifts exercised, at his time, in the church, in terms 
which mainly accord with the account given to us of the same faculties, in 
the epistles of Paul. "We hear many brethren in the church," says this 
father, "who are endued with prophetic gifts; who speak by the Spirit in 
all kinds of languages; who bring to light the secrets of men for good pur- 
poses, and who declare divine mysteries;" Adv. Hsa-es. lib. v. cap. 6. 
* Sec JSchleus-nef in toe. ftixna. 



174 ON THE SELECTION, PREPARATION, 

apprehension of Friends, ought never to be brought; 
into exercise unless it is suggested, ordered, and 
directed, of the Lord; since, as far as is consistent 
with the infirmity of the instrument, it thus assumes, 
in their view, the character of a divine work; and 
since the influence which alone leads into such a 
work, is in no degree placed under their authority; 
it necessarily follows that they cannot interfere in 
any of the preceding steps — in the selection, pre* 
paration, and appointment, of the ministers of the 
Gospel. They conceive that it is the undivided 
prerogative of the Great Head of the church him- 
self, to choose, to prepare, and to ordain, his own 
ministers. A few observations may now be offered 
upon each of these points. 

I. Selection. " Before I formed thee in the belly 
I knew thee ; and before thou earnest forth out of 
the womb, I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a 
prophet unto the nations." Such was the declara- 
tion of the Lord to Jeremiah, although the prophet 
deemed himself to be a mere child, completely in- 
capable of the office to which he had been called ; 
Jer. i. 5. A very similar declaration was made re- 
specting an eminent apostle of Jesus Christ. We 
find that Ananias, the messenger of the Lord to 
Paul, considered this persecutor of the christians to 
be utterly unfit for the exercise of the ministry of 
the gospel ; " but the Lord said unto him, Go thy 
way : for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my 
name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the chil- 
dren of Israel ;" Acts ix. 15. Accordingly Paul him- 
self declares he was " separated unto the gospel of 



AND APPOINTMENT, OF MINISTERS. 175 

God," Rom. i. 1 — that God separated him from his 
mothers ivomb, and called him by his grace to reveal 
his Son in him, that he might preach him among the 
heathen; Gal. i. 15, 16. As it was with Jeremiah 
and Paul, so undoubtedly it was with all the other 
prophets and apostles of whom we read in the Holy 
Scriptures. They were " witnesses chosen before 
of God." In the secret counsels of their heavenly 
Father, they were selected from among the children 
of men, and were pre-ordained according to his fore- 
knowledge for that peculiar service in the church 
and in the world, unto which it was his good plea- 
sure to appoint them. They were not in general 
such persons as men would have chosen for the 
work : they were but very humble instruments in 
their own sight, and in the sight of others. Never- 
theless, the Lord, who is alone the searcher of 
hearts, had selected them in his own wisdom, and 
for his own work. " Ye have not chosen me,f — 
said our Saviour to his disciples, whom he was soon 
to anoint w T ith his Holy Spirit and to send forth in 
the work of the gospel, — " but I have chosen you, 
and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth 
fruit, and that your fruit should remain;" John xv. 
16. Now there is evidently no reason, why the 
same principle should not apply to every true minis- 
ter of the gospel of Christ. Man is no adequate 
judge beforehand of the capacity of his brother for 
such a work; and often are the individuals whom in 
our own wisdom we should be prone to prefer for 
the purpose, passed over by the Lord. But as he 
is pleased, with the powerful influence of his own 



176 ON THE SELECTION, PREPARATION, 

Spirit, to anoint some of his servants for the work 
of the ministry: so it must be allowed, that, in 
his perfect knowledge and boundless wisdom, he 
chooses these individuals for their office in the 
church, before he thus anoints them in order to its 
execution. 

Now the selection of which we are speaking, is 
to be regarded, not in the light of an unconditional 
and irresistible decree, but in that of a gracious pur- 
pose, which requires to be met with corresponding 
duties. This purpose may in its operation be dis- 
appointed by the negligence, or perverted by the 
activity of man. Many an individual, doubtless, 
whom the Lord would have numbered among his 
preachers, has, through un watchfulness and neglect 
of the Shepherd's voice, fallen short of the station 
designed for him. And many a body of christians, 
also, by taking the choice of their ministers into 
their own hands, have imposed the sacred office 
upon those for whom it was not intended, and have 
been found in effect to say to the prophets of the 
Lord—" Prophesy not." There cay be no reason- 
able question, that in every age of the church, tlie 
Lord chooses the individuals whom he is about to 
intrust with his message to man. What then can 
be the corresponding duty of his people, but to 
wait patiently on their divine Master with prayer 
and supplication, until he shall be pleased to raise 
up and anoint, for their service, those whom he has 
chosen? 

II. Preparation. Every christian will allow that 
the prophets, apostles, and evangelists of ancient 



AND APPOINTMENT, OF MINISTERS. 177 

times, who were chosen beforehand in the divine 
counsels to be the bearers of the message of their 
Lord, were prepared for their office before they 
were called upon to exercise its duties ; and it is 
equally incontrovertible, that this preparation, which 
in some instances appears to have been gradual and 
long continued, and in others, short and sudden, 
was of the Lord, and not of man. They were fitted 
for the exercise of the Lord's gifts, by the work of 
his grace. Possibly there might be occasions when, 
under very peculiar circumstances, and in order to 
answer some extraordinary end, even the impeni- 
tent sinner might be made to prophesy. But such 
instances, if any such there were, can be considered 
only as rare exceptions to a general rule. No rea- 
sonable theologian will refuse to admit, that, in 
general, the individuals whom the Lord raised up 
among the Israelites and in the infant christian 
church, to be prophets and preachers of the word — 
to be instruments of conversion and edification to 
others — were themselves previously subjected to 
the influence of redeeming power, cleansed to a 
considerable degree from their old sins, and taught 
to live in the fear and love of God. Utterly unable 
would they have been to proclaim unto others, in 
demonstration of the Spirit, the righteousness which 
is by faith ; h&d they not, in the first instance, ob- 
tained for themselves an experimental acquaintance 
with that righteousness. " Create in me a clean 
heart, O God," cried the Psalmist, " and renew a 
right spirit within me. Restore unto me the joy of 
thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free Spirit; 



178 ON THE SELECTION, PREPARATION, 

then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners 
shall be converted unto thee :" Ps. li. 10, 12, 13, comp. 
II. Tim. ii. 19—21. 

Now Friends are of the opinion, that, with respect 
to the preparation of ministers, as well as to their 
original selection, no valid distinction can be drawn 
between the preachers of the word in ancient times, 
and those who are rightly authorized for the service 
in the present day. The latter indeed may receive 
a far lower degree of inspiration than the former. 
Nevertheless, they are gifted of the Lord according 
to their own measure, and minister to the people 
under the immediate influence of his Spirit. We 
hold it then to be an undeniable position, that for 
the right exercise of such a gift, (unless, as before 
nientioned, it be under very peculiar and extraor- 
dinary circumstances) the work of divine grace in 
the heart, is an indispensable preparation. 

Here it ought to be remarked, that this work of 
grace in the heart, as it is preparatory to the chris- 
tian ministry, is often found to assume a character 
of more than ordinary depth, The religious expe- 
rience of all true christians will indeed be found to 
accord in every main feature ; for where is the living 
member of the church who has not some practical 
acquaintance with the converting and sanctifying 
power of the Lord ; with the path of self-denial, and 
with a conformity to the sufferings of Christ ; as well 
as with the refreshing and sustaining influence of 
his redeeming love? But those whom the chief 
Shepherd of the flock is secretly preparing to 
minister to others, are sometimes introduced into 



AND APPOINTMENT, OF MINISTERS. 179 

stronger mental conflicts, and brought under more 
powerful spiritual visitations, than many of their 
brethren. It is often their lot, in no ordinary mea- 
sure, to be introduced into a variety of secret trials 
and temptations, and to be led as blind men through 
an unknown and dreary wilderness ; See Isa. xlii. 
16. Thus are they taught to surrender their own 
wills to the divine guidance, and are experimentally 
prepared for those duties of sympathy, which are 
so peculiarly adapted to the office designed for 
them ; and when they have at length been permit- 
ted to experience the delivering and redeeming 
power of their Lord, they are ready to open their 
mouths in his service, — to utter his praise, to pro- 
mulgate his law, and to proclaim his mercy. 

The work of grace, which is carried forward in 
the hearts of his selected servants by the Lord him- 
self, is deemed by Friends to be at once indispen- 
sable and sufficient, as a preparation for the chris- 
tian ministry. The addition of literary attainment, 
upon which some persons are accustomed to lay so 
great a stress, they regard as a non-essential circum- 
stance. Our views on this branch of the subject 
are justified alike by the records of Scripture, and 
by our own experience, as a religious body. Among 
the. prophets and preachers of ancient Israel, and 
the apostles and other earty disciples of the Lord 
Jesus Christ, there were indeed certain individuals 
(for example, king Solomon, the apostle Paul, and 
the evangelist Luke,) who were distinguished in 
various degrees, by the acquirements of learning; 
but in manv other instances it must be confessed. 



180 ON THE SELECTION, PREPARATION, 

that the persons who were called upon of the Lord 
to become the preachers of righteousness, were al- 
together destitute of the advantage of erudition. 
That this was the matter of fact, in an especial de- 
gree, with most of those pre-eminently able minis- 
ters, the apostles of Jesus Christ, is universally un- 
derstood and acknowledged. Nor, with the single 
exception of the gift of tongues, does this absence 
of literature appear to have been supplied by their 
inspiration; for this, in general, had no other effect 
than that of enlightening them respecting the great 
truths of Christianity, and of clothing their humble 
preaching with true energy, life, and authority. Even 
Paul, who was brought up in all the learning of the 
Hebrews at the feet of Gamaliel, discarded the " en- 
ticing words of man's wisdom," visited his brethren 
in weakness, fear, and trembling, and determined to 
knoiv nothing among them, " save Jesus Christ, and 
him crucified;" I. Cor. ii. 2, 3, 4. 

Such are the facts recorded in Scripture respect- 
ing the preachers of the word of God, and our own 
history and experience, as a religious Society, is 
calculated to impress upon us a very similar lesson. 
It is an indisputable fact, that many of our most use- 
ful and convincing ministers, both in the first age 
of the Society, and in more modern times, have 
been persons of very hjumble origin, and destitute 
of every thing which could fairly be described as 
literary attainment. Many such persons have been 
known to go forth from among us, and to proclaim 
the spirituality of the gospel dispensation, with an 
authority and success, which have plainly evinced, 



AND APPOINTMENT, OF MINISTERS. 181 

that in the work carried on in their hearts by the 
Lord himself, they have found all that was esse?itial 
as a preparation for their ministerial functions. 

As an academical preparation for the specific ob- 
ject of the ministry is considered by Friends to be 
unnecessary and improper, so the opportunity of it 
is precluded among them by a single consideration; 
namely, that according to their sentiments, it is the 
Lord alone (as I have already endeavoured to ex- 
plain) who selects the ministers of the gospel, and 
that until the work be actually commenced, the So- 
ciety is ignorant who have been selected. Those 
who, like Friends, allow that he only can choose 
ministers, must also allow, as a necessary conse- 
quence, that he only can prepare them. The prin- 
ciple which excludes the interference of man in the 
one particular, plainly excludes it in the other also. 

In bringing to a conclusion the present division 
of our argument, it will be desirable for me (in or- 
der to the prevention of erroneous impressions) to 
offer one or two farther remarks on literary attain- 
ments, and especially on scriptural knowledge. The 
known opinion of Friends, that academical studies 
are unnecessary as a preparation for the ministry, 
has given rise among some persons, to a notion that 
the Society avoids administering any encourage- 
ment to the general pursuit of literature. The in- 
dividuals whom I am now addressing are well aware, 
that such a notion has no real foundation. I trust 
it is a principle acknowledged by Friends, as well 
as by their neighbours, that it is the duty of the 
christian, as well as the privilege of the man, to avail 



182 ON THE SELECTION, PREPARATION, 

himself of every proper opportunity for the cultiva- 
tion of his mind, for the enlargement of his talents, 
and for the acquirement of knowledge. George 
Fox informs us in one passage of his interesting 
journal, that he advised the institution of an acade- 
my for the children of Friends, that they might be 
instructed in " whatsoever things were civil and use- 
ful in the creation" fol. ed. a. d. 1665, p. 395; and 
I am persuaded that many Friends in the present 
day entertain an earnest, — I hope an increasing de- 
sire, that their young people may be so instructed. 
Whatever be our calling in the world, and whatever 
our station in the church, it is unquestionable, that 
the exercise of our intellectual faculties, and the 
collecting of useful knowledge, will enlarge our ca- 
pacity for the service of our great Master; and on 
this principle it is to be freely admitted that learn- 
ing may produce collaterally and subordinately, a 
desirable effect, even on the ministry of the gospel. 
Not only may the powers of the mind be strength- 
ened for that, and every other good purpose, by 
means of a liberal education; but occasions fre- 
quently occur in which information upon various 
points may be made to subserve the great object 
of the christian minister. Thus, for example, when 
the apostle Paul was engaged in preaching to 
the polite and fastidious Athenians, it gave him 
no slight advantage with his audience, that he was 
able to illustrate his doctrine by an apposite quota- 
tion from one of their own poets ; Acts xvii. 28. 

While however our capacity for usefulness in the 
church, may be in some degree enlarged by almost 



AND APPOINTMENT, OF MINISTERS. 183 

every description of innocent intellectual pursuit, 
there is no species of mental cultivation, to which 
this observation applies with nearly equal force, as 
to that which has in itself a directly edifying ten- 
dency — the acquirement of christian knowledge, es- 
pecially through the study of the Holy Scriptures. 
An accurate acquaintance with that divine book, will 
be found of no little avail in the performance of all 
most any services which may be allotted to us in 
the church : for where is the moral condition, where 
is the religious engagement, to which something ap- 
plicable may not be discovered among the examples, 
the doctrines, or the precepts, recorded in the Bible? 
But it must on all hands be allowed, that to the 
christian minister, a knowledge of the Bible is of 
pre-eminent use and importance. 

It is one of the leading excellencies of the sacred 
volume, and one of the practical proofs of its divine 
origin, that it contains an inexhaustible stock of mate- 
rials for the ministry of the word. The experience 
of Friends in this respect is in accordance with that 
of other religious bodies. Although our ministers 
can prescribe no limits to the diversified directions 
of that divine influence under which they profess 
to act, yet we know that in general, it is Scripture 
which supplies them with the subjects of their con- 
templation ; it is Scripture which the Spirit of truth 
recalls to their recollection, and impresses upon their 
minds ; it is the language of scripture which they 
quote ; it is the doctrine of Scripture which they 
unfold and apply. 

Now, although our religious principles plainly 



184 ON THE SELECTION, PREPARATION, 

prevent our instituting a course even of scriptural 
stuay, as a preparation for the office of preachers, 
it is to be remembered, that the perusal of the sacred 
volume is a duty enjoined by the Society of Friends 
on all its members ; and probably very few among 
them will be found less liable to the omission of 
such a duty, than those whom the Lord is preparing 
for the office of the ministry. While he is carry- 
ing on the work of grace in their hearts, and leading 
them through many a secret conflict, they will be a 
little inclined to the neglect of those inspired records, 
by means of which they may so often be strength- 
ened in their weakness, instructed in their ignorance, 
and comforted in their sorrow. And thus, when 
at length they are anointed for the service, and com- 
missioned to proclaim the gospel, they are seldom, 
if ever, found destitute of a useful and experimental 
acquaintance with Holy Writ. Lastly, after they 
have been acknowledged as ministers, a frequent 
perusal of the Bible, and a careful attention to its 
contents, is considered by the Society to be one of 
their especial duties. See advices to ministers and 
elders — Book of Extracts. 

III. Appointment. By the appointment of a mi- 
nister, I do not mean his original selection, but his 
actual introduction to the office — that introduction 
which in episcopal churches is considered to be ef- 
fected by the ordaining act of the bishop. In this 
last of the measures which are generally under- 
stood to precede the exercise of the christian min- 
istry, as well as in the two anterior steps already 
considered, Friends esteem the interference of man 



AND APPOINTMENT, OF MINISTERS. 185 

to he needless, improper, and, on the principles 
which they entertain, impossible. It is needless, 
according to our apprehension, because the authori- 
ty of that Being who really invests with the office is 
incapable of any augmentation. It is improper, be- 
cause he has no counsellor, and no man may inter- 
rupt his designs, or interfere with his will. It is on 
our principles impossible, because, as we are ig- 
norant who among us have been selected and pre- 
pared for the work, so are we destitute of any ade- 
quate means of judging, to whom the exercise of 
that work may rightly be committed. 

Although the gifts of the Holy Spirit were in 
early times miraculously communicated by the lay- 
ing on of the hands of the Lord's inspired servants, 
there is nothing in Scripture, as we have already 
found occasion to observe, which justifies, in any de- 
gree, the merely human appointment of the preach- 
ers of the gospel. Paul declares that he was an 
apostle, " not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus 
Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from 
the dead;" Gal. i. 1. Such was the case with Paul; 
nor could it be otherwise with the apostles in gene- 
ral, or with their companions and associates in the 
work of the gospel. Whether they were or were 
not subjected to the laying on of human hands, they 
were really invested with their sacred office, not by 
their bishops — not by their churches — but by Him 
who had already selected them for the work, and 
from whom alone the spirit of prophecy could ever 
emanate. When the one hundred and twenty per- 
sons, who were gathered together on the day of 

2 A 



186 ON THE SELECTION, PREPARATION, 

Pentecost, were all filled with the Holy Ghost, they 
spake with tongues and prophesied. These per- 
sons were appointed to the office of the ministry, 
and invested with its faculties,*by an authority and 
power which precluded all interference; and which 
demanded nothing at the hands of the rulers of the 
church, but submission and praise. " Unto every 
one of us," says Paul to the Ephesians, " is given 
grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ 
Wherefore he saith, when he ascended up on high 

he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men 

And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; 
and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teach- 
ers; for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of 
the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ;" 
Eph. iv. 7—12. 

Now however the gifts of the Holy Spirit may 
be found to vary at different periods in measure and 
degree, yet as long as the ministry is exercised un- 
der the immediate influence of the Spirit, so long 
the principle of ordination to such a function must 
evidently continue unchanged. When the Lord 
Jesus has selected his ministers from among his 
people; when he has caried forward and completed 
the work of their preparation; when finally he has 
issued his gracious command that they should go 
forth and preach the gospel, and has anointed them 
for the purpose by the influences of the Holy Spirit; 
there is but one right and proper course for them 
to pursue — the course of simple and unhesitating 
obedience. They know that man has no right to 
interfere with their appointment, and they dare not 



AND APPOINTMENT, OP MINISTERS. 187 

look to him for their warrant and authority. It is 
their Lord and Redeemer who has invested them 
with their office, and to him alone they are respon- 
sible for its execution. 

Let it not, however, be imagined that, in the de- 
cision of the question whether or not he is truly ap- 
pointed to that office, the minister is to depend ex- 
clusively on his own judgment Christians are ever 
to be subject one to another in love, and it must, in 
great measure, devolve on their brethren, to deter- 
mine whether those who speak the word, are rightly 
invested with their functions, or whether their com- 
munications rest on no better foundation than their 
own will. The generality of my readers are prob- 
ably well aware that one of the principal duties of 
the elders in our religious Society, is to watch over 
the ministry, to guard against the encroachments of 
unsound and unauthorized doctrine; to encourage 
the feeble and the diffident, and to restrain the for- 
ward and the hasty among the Lord's servants. Nor 
is the office of judging respecting the ministry con- 
fined to the Elders alone. As the whole body of 
the church in any place, is interested in the ques- 
tion respecting the authority of its ministers, so is 
the whole body concerned in the decision of that 
question. When a congregation of christians have 
bestowed on the ministry of any individual, a due 
and patient attention — when they are brought to a 
satisfactory sense that it is attended with the life 
and power of the Spirit of truth — when they have 
fully experienced its enlivening and edifying influ- 
ence — thev are enabled to form a sound and valid 



188 Otf THE SELECTION, PREPARATION, 

judgment, that such a one is "inwardly moved" to 
the work, " by the Holy Ghost;" and then, though 
they have no concern with his appointment to the 
ministry, it is required of them, by the order of 
christian discipline, (and it is a practice universal in 
the Society of Friends,) to acknowledge that he is 
a true minister of Christ, and to yield to him that 
station in the church which so important a calling 
demands. 

Before we dismiss the subject of the appointment 
of ministers, it will be desirable to make a few re- 
marks on a secondary branch of it. In many chris- 
tian churches the appointment of the minister is 
twofold — the " ordination" by which he receives 
his authority to preach, and the " institution" by 
which he is entrusted with the spiritual superin- 
tendence of a particular flock. In the church of 
England, the ordination is truly the act of the bishop 
alone ; the institution, although the official act of the 
bishop, depends in reality on t\\e patron of the liv- 
ing. Upon him rests the awful responsibility (I 
might almost call it the divine prerogative) of as- 
signing a flock to the shepherd, and of selecting a 
shepherd for the flock. Now it may be freely al- 
lowed, that this most important prerogative is some- 
times exercised with a pious care, and with an 
earnest solicitude for the spiritual welfare of the par- 
ties. But, on the other hand, who is not aware that, 
in consequence of the prevalence of such a system, 
the holy things of God are often miserably profan- 
ed — that livings are bestowed and accepted for the 
mere purpose of temporal advantage — and that, ifl 



AND APPOINTMENT, OP MINISTERS. 189 

general, the more unfit any persons are for an au- 
thority to appoint to the care of souls, the more 
ready they are to exercise that authority, without 
consideration? 

Among the generality of protestant dissenters, 
the choice of the minister, as I have already stated, 
rests exclusively with the people; and his ordination 
serves the double purpose of giving an established 
authority to his ministerial functions, and of appoint- 
ing him as the preacher to a specific congregation. 

Now with respect to this secondary appointment 
of the ministers of the gospel, Friends believe it to 
be their duty to adhere to the principles already 
unfolded, and to refrain altogether from any inter- 
ference with the will and work of the Lord. We 
are thoroughly persuaded that as he alone can be- 
stow upon us the gifts of the Spirit, so he alone 
can rightly determine the line of our services, and 
the field of our labours. Within the compass of 
whatever meeting a minister is raised up in the Sob- 
riety, there, for the most part, he continues to re- 
side and to exercise the duties of his calling; nor 
will he, if he be rightly disposed, venture so to 
change his residence, as to transfer his services to 
another congregation, unless he can entertain the 
humble confidence that, in adopting such a measure, 
he is acting in conformity with the will of his divine 
Master. 

As our principle, on this subject, evidently applies 
to fixing of the usual residence of the minister of 
the gospel, so does it also apply in a very particu- 
lar manner to his itinerant labours. Every one who 



190 ON THE SELECTION, PREPARATION, 

is acquainted with the history of the Israel itish pro- 
phets, must be aware that, in all their religious 
movements, they acted under the direction of" the 
word of the Lord;" that is, probabty, of the percep- 
tible inward communication of his Spirit. The 
" word of the Lord" sent them forth on their errands, 
and plainly directed them to the persons for whom 
their message was intended, and to the places in 
which it was to be delivered; See, for example, I. 
Kings, xvi. 7, xvii. 2 — 9, xviii. 1, xix. 15, Isa. vii. 3, 
Amos vii. 14, 15, Jon. i. 2. So also there is every 
reason to believe that the proceedings of the apos- 
tles, and of the other early preachers of Christianity, 
although not in general described in the same man- 
ner, were in fact regulated by the same principle. 
The Spirit by whose immediate revelations they 
were alone enabled to preach, would not fail to di- 
rect their ministry to the right persons, and in the 
right places ; nor can we imagine that these servants 
of the Lord were, in this respect, destitute of that 
immediate guidance, with which, in the other 
branches of their high duty, they were so clearly 
and so eminently favoured. In the narration, con- 
tained in the book of Acts, of two of the apostle 
Paul's journies in the work of the ministry, a plain 
description is given of the authority and influence 
under which he commenced and conducted the un- 
dertaking. We read that, as the christians at An- 
tioch u ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy 
Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for 
the work whereunto I have called them: and 



AND APPOINTMENT, OP MINISTERS. 191 

when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their 
hands on them, they sent them away. So they, 
being sent forth by the Holy Ghost, departed unto 
Seleucia, and from thence they sailed to Cyprus, fyc. 
Acts xiii. 2 — 4. Again, in the history of Paul's se- 
cond journey, (when Silas was his companion,) we 
are informed that " when they had gone throughout 
Phrygia and the region of Galatia, and were forbid- 
den of the Holy Ghost to preach the word in Asia, 
after they were come to Mysia, they essayed to go 
into Bithynia; but the Spirit suffered them not;" 
and we are afterwards told that, by a special vision 
from the Lord, they were encouraged to cross the 
sea, and to go forward into Macedonia; Acts xvi 6. 
— 10, comp. eh. viii. 26, 39. 

There appears to be no good reason why that 
divine direction which was thus betowed upon the 
ancient prophets and apostles, should be withheld 
from the servants of the Lord in the present day, 
who conduct their religious administrations under a 
lower degree of the same immediate influence. Ac- 
cordingly the itinerant labours of their ministers, are 
ever considered in the Society of Friends, to be 
regulated by the perceptible guidance of the Holy 
Spirit; and in adopting this principle, we conceive 
that we have been amply justified by along-continued 
and multiplied trial of its practical operation. A 
short description of that which Friends deem to be 
on such occasions the proper experience of the 
minister, as well as his right method of proceeding, 
will perhaps be acceptable to such of my readers, 
as are not at present well informed on the subject 



192 ON THE SELECTION, PREPARATION, 

In the first place, then, we ought to remark, that 
it is plainly recognized in the Society to be the ge- 
neral duty of ministers, not only to exercise their 
functions in the place of their own residence, but 
to be diligent in visiting the churches which are 
scattered abroad, and to be ready, when called of 
the Lord, to go forth and promulgate, in other places, 
the spirituality of the gospel dispensation. Now as 
the minister is preserved in humble dependence 
upon his divine Master, he not only feels the im* 
portance of this general calling, but is often made 
sensible of an impression, that it is his duty to ex- 
ercise it in particular parts of the Lord's heritage. 
The current of christian love in his heart assumes 
a specific direction. On general grounds he can 
feel, with the apostle, that he is a debtor to all men— 
but there are particular portions of men to whom 
that debt is now commanded to be paid. The bur- 
then of the Lord rests upon him, and he endeavours 
to dwell patiently under its influence, until his views 
are so cleared and ripened, that he can lay them 
before his brethren and sisters of the meeting to 
which he belongs. They unite with him in the de- 
liberate consideration of the subject, and if on wait- 
ing in silence together, they come to a judgment, 
that the undertaking of the minister truly originates 
in the divine will, they set him at liberty for his 
journey ; commend him to the gracious care and 
protection of the good Shepherd ; and, for the satis- 
faction of those persons among whom his lot may 
be cast, bestow upon him a certificate of their con- 
currence and approbation. 



AND APPOINTMENT, OF MINISTERS. 193 

Thus provided with the recorded sanction of his 
friends, and " sent forth," as he humbly trusts, " by 
the Holy Ghost," to the work appointed him, the 
minister proceeds on his journey ; and whether his 
labours be directed only to Friends, or also to their 
neighbours of other denominations, (who on such 
occasions are frequently invited to attend our re- 
ligious assemblies,) he endeavours to follow no other 
guidance, throughout the progress of his travels, but 
the gentle and secret intimations of the divine word 
within him. Under this guidance he passes from 
place to place, and from meeting to meeting. Poor 
and empty in himself, and totally unprepared for his 
successive labours by previous study, he acts on a 
principle of simple faith in his Governor and Guide. 
As this faith is maintained, he finds himself again 
and again renewed in his spiritual strength; and as 
often as the right opportunity recurs, he is revisited 
by the enlivening Spirit of the Lord, and anointed 
afresh for his service. At length, when the work 
assigned to him on the present occasion has been 
executed, the burthen which had rested with so 
much weight upon him, is removed. He returns to 
his home : he restores to his friends the certificate 
which they had given him, and he is for the most 
part permitted to resume his usual occupations, with 
a remunerating and confirming sense of rest, liberty, 
and consolation. 

In reviewing the principal contents of the present 
dissertation, the reader will recall to his remem- 
brance, the general rule laid down at its commence- 
ment ; that the standard maintained by any body of 

3b 



194 ON THE SELECTION, PREPARATION, 

christians, respecting the steps preparatory to the 
ministry, will always be proportioned to their stand- 
ard respecting the origin and nature of the ministry 
itself. He will recollect that this rule is illustrated 
and confirmed by the known practices of the Ang- 
lican church, and of the generality of English pro- 
testant dissenters — that the human ordination of the 
preachers of the gospel, so prevalent among modern 
christians, derives no authority from that ordination 
of Presbyters, which is recorded in Scripture, as 
having taken place in primitive times ; because the 
Bishops, Presbyters, and Deacons, of the early 
church, although rulers, managers, and even teach- 
ers, were not officially the preachers of the word — 
that Friends who allow no ministry in connexion 
with worship, but such as they deem to spring from 
the immediate influence of the Spirit, can take no 
part whatever in the steps antecedent to the exer- 
cise of such a gift; but conceive it to be their duty 
to leave the whole work of selection, preparation, 
and ordination, to the Lord himself — that Jesus 
Christ, according to their apprehension, chooses his 
own ministers before-hand, and that no man may 
interfere with his choice — that he prepares them 
for the office, by the work of his grace — that this 
preparation is of itself sufficient without literary at- 
tainment; although mental cultivation and learning 
are in themselves desirable, and produce collateral' 
Ixj a good effect even on our religious services — 
that a practical knowledge of the Holy Scriptures, 
more especially, is of very pre-eminent use to the 
christian preacher— that when the Lord has chosen 



AND APPOINTMENT, OP MINISTERS. 195 

and prepared his ministers, he anoints them for 
their service, sends them forth on his own authori- 
ty, and directs them in the course of their labours — 
that, nevertheless, the decision of the question, 
whether the minister be really acting under divine 
authority, or otherwise, rests not so much with 
himself, as with the church — finally, that the views 
and practices of Friends, in relation to these seve- 
ral particulars, are in precise accordance with a 
variety of declarations and examples recorded in 
Holy Writ. 

Having completed my argument on the present 
subject, I may venture, in conclusion, to suggest to 
the consideration of my friends an important prac- 
tical reflection. It has often and justly been ob- 
served, that every species of true excellence and 
virtue has its imitating and corresponding vice; and 
certainly it is the obvious duty of christians, while 
they earnestly endeavour to embrace the one, to be 
no less diligent in avoiding the other. Now that 
passive course which it is the object of the present 
essay to recommend — that absence of all human 
interference with the sole prerogative and peculiar 
work of the Lord — however excellent and desira- 
ble in itself — will, I believe, be found to have its 
imitating and corresponding vice, in spiritual dull- 
ness and inactivity, in a real neglect of the divine call, 
and in the omission of required duty. Such is our 
own liability to error, and such the artfulness of 
our spiritual enemy, that the very doctrine of our 
insufficiency may be made a cover for inertness, 
and for a culpable and cowardly secession from the 



196 APPOINTMENT OP MINISTERS. 

good fight of faith. The mental poverty and dis 
couragement, also, to which even the Lord's faith- 
ful servants are liable, may often be so fostered as to 
prevent their laying hold of that arm of power, 
which is able to support them in the most arduous 
conflicts, and to qualify them, notwithstanding all 
their weakness, for their labours in the gospel of 
Christ. Exposed as we are to these points of dan- 
ger, and very generally placed in a condition of 
outward ease and security, we had need exercise a 
constant care, lest, while we are making a pre-emi- 
nent profession of spirituality, our conduct should 
be marked by real indolence in the service of our 
Redeemer. 

Now, where is the preservative against such an 
indolence ? Surely it will not be found in the de- 
sertion of those pure and exalted principles, which 
it is our especial duty to uphold in the church, but 
rather in watchfulness unto prayer. Let us then 
be more diligent in seeking the animating and 
strengthening influence of the grace of God : let us 
be alive to every touch of the divine finger ; let our 
hearts breathe the expressions of Samuel, " Speak, 
Lord, for thy servant heareth;" and, since "the 
harvest truly is plenteous," and the labourers " few," 
let us unite in earnest supplication to the Almighty, 
that he will be pleased, yet more abundantly, to 
pour forth of his Spirit upon all flesh, and thus to 
"send forth labourers into his harvest" 






CHAPTER VII. 



ON THE PECUNIARY REMUNERATION OF THE MNISTERS 

OF THE GOSPEL. 

When Jesus Christ sent forth his seventy disci- 
ples to heal diseases, and to proclaim the approach 
of the kingdom of heaven, he forbade them to pro- 
vide any stores for their journey. They were to 
place their confidence in the providential care of 
their heavenly Father; and in the houses which they 
might visit, they were freely to avail themselves of 
the hospitality of their friends, for the supply of 
their bodily wants. "Into whatsoever house ye 
enter," said he to them, " first say, Peace be to this 
house; and if the Son of peace be there, your 
peace shall rest upon it : if not, it shall turn to you 
again. Jlnd in the same house remain, eating and 
drinking such things as they give ; for the labourer 
is worthy of his hire >•" Luke x. 5 — 7. So also the 
apostle Paul, when addressing his Corinthian con- 
verts, among whom he had so diligently laboured, 
as a minister of the gospel of Christ, asserts the 
claim upon them, which, when so engaged, he clear- 
ly possessed, for such a provision of "carnal things" 
as. his necessities might require. "Have we not 
power," says he, " to eat and drink? ... or I only 
and Barnabas, have not we power to forbear work- 
ing? Who goeth a warfare any time at his own 
charges ? Who planteth a vineyard, and eateth not 



198 ON THE PECUNIARY REMUNERATION 

of the fruit thereof? Or who feedeth a flock, and 
eateth not of the milk of the flock? Say I these 
things as a man ? Or saith not the law the same 
also ? For it is written in the law of Moses, Thou 
shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth 
out the corn. Doth God take care for oxen? Or 
saith he it altogether for our sakes ? For our sakes, 
no doubt, this is written : that he that ploweth, 
should plow in hope ; and that he that thresheth in 
hope, should be partaker of his hope. If we have 
sown unto you spiritual things, is it a great thing if 
we shall reap your carnal things ? . . . Do ye not know 
that they which minister about holy things live of 
the things of the temple? And they which wait at 
the altar are partakers with the altar ? Even so 
hath the Lord ordained that they which preach the 
gospel, should live of the gospel ;" I Cor. ix. 4 — 14. 
That particular provision of the Mosaic law which 
is here cited— when regarded in its ulterior sense, 
as applicable to the labourers in the cause of right- 
eousness — appears to express, in a manner at once 
full and simple, the principle on which the apostle 
asserts his right to a provision for his natural wants. 
44 Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out 
the corn :" or in other words, While the ox is tread- 
ing out the com, thou shalt not muzzle him. When 
the seventy disciples of Jesus forsook for a time 
all their secular employments : when they went 
forth in the name of their Lord, to heal the sick, 
and to preach righteousness : when they were 
engaged in travelling from place to place in order 
to publish to their countrymen the glad tidings of 



OF THE MINISTERS OF THE GOSPEL. 199 

salvation, it is plain that their whole time was occu- 
pied in their religious services : and, deprived as 
they w r ere, during the continuance of such services, 
of the opportunity for earning their own bread, 
it was right that they should cast themselves, 
without reserve, on the kindness and liberality of 
their friends. It would have been improper in the 
visiters to decline such assistance, and shameful in 
the visited to withhold it. Very similar were the 
circumstances of the apostle Paul, who had sacri- 
ficed his original pursuits, and knew no settled or 
permanent home ; but moved about from place to 
place, according to the will of his Lord, in order to 
disseminate, among his fellow-men, the truths of 
Christianity. Inasmuch as he was constantly en- 
gaged in these missionary labours — inasmuch as 
his time and talents were devoted exclusively to the 
work of an evangelist — insomuch he possessed an 
undeniable moral claim, on those in whose behalf he 
laboured for the supply of his outward necessities. 
The same rule, respecting the maintenance of 
the ministers of the gospel, is admitted in the So- 
ciety of Friends. Occasions frequently occur, as 
has been remarked in the preceding chapter, when 
our ministers, as they apprehend, are sent forth 
from their homes by their divine Master. Con^ 
strained by the gentle influences of his love in their 
hearts, they visit the churches w 7 hich are scattered 
abroad, and for a time devote themselves without 
intermission to the exercise of their ministerial 
functions. During the progress and continuance 
pf such undertakings, they cannot be expected to 



200 ON THE PECUNIARY REMUNERATION 

provide for themselves ; and it is, therefore, a prac- 
tice generally prevailing in the society, to pay the 
expenses of their jourjaies, and to maintain them dur- 
ing the course of their labours. Like the seventy 
disciples to whom we have already alluded, they 
eat and drink at the houses which they visit ; and 
if they be found true evangelists, it is universally 
acknowledged by their brethren, and not only ac- 
knowledged, but felt— that " the labourer is worthy 
of his hire ;" or, as the sentiment is expressed in 
the gospel of Matthew, that " the workman is wor- 
thy of his meat;" ch. x. 10. 

Although, however, Paul upholds the general rule, 
that the ox when actually treading out the corn is 
not to be muzzled, he was evidently very jealous 
of its being, in any degree, misapplied, or extended 
beyond its true bearing. Deprived as he was of 
any permanent home, and singularly devoted, both 
in mind and time, to the duties of an apostle, he 
might very reasonably have depended altogether 
upon the churches for his food and raiment; but no 
sooner did he take up his residence in any place, 
for a considerable length of time, than he began to 
apply himself to some manual labour, in order that 
he might earn his own bread, avoid being burthen- 
some to his friends, and throw no impediment what- 
soever in the way of the gospel. " If others be par- 
takers of this power over you," says the apostle to 
the same Corinthians, " are not we rather? Never- 
theless, we have not used this power; but suffer all 

things, lest we should hinder the gospel of Christ 

What is my reward then? Verily that, when I 



OF THE MINISTERS OF THE GOSPEL. 201 

preach the gospel, I may make the gospel of Christ 
without charge, that I abuse not my power in the 
gospel;" I. Cor. ix. 12, 18. As the apostle declin- 
ed receiving a maintenance from his friends at Co- 
rinth, so he observed the same line of conduct at 
Ephesus; where indeed he not only supported him- 
self, but contributed to the support of others. Dili- 
gent as he was, during his abode in that city, in 
the exercise of his ministry — teaching "publicly 
from house to house," and warning " every one night 
and day with tears" — he was nevertheless enabled 
to address the Ephesian Elders in the following- 
terms : " I have coveted no man's silver, or gold, or 
apparel; yea, ye yourselves know that these hands 
have ministered unto my necessities, and to them 
that were with me;" Acts xx. 33, 34. And after 
thus adverting to his own conduct, he proceeded 
to enjoin a similar course upon those whom he was 
addressing: " I have shewed you all things, how that 
so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to 
remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said 
4 It is more blessed to give than to receive ;"' ver. 
35. 

On the whole, therefore, while the general rule 
is to be admitted that the preacher of the gospel, 
during the periods when his time is exclusively de- 
voted to his ministerial functions, may properly de- 
rive his sustenance from those among whom he is 
thus engaged, it is quite evident that according to 
the mind of the apostle Paul, any application of this 
rule, beyond its true limits, is inconsistent with the 

2c 



202 ON THE PECUNIARY REMUNERATION 

purity of the divine law, and injurious to the cause 
of Christianity. 

Now, it is the opinion of Friends, that the limits 
of the rule are transgressed, and the rule itself dan- 
gerously perverted, in the practice so usual among 
christians of hiring the ministers of the gospel. Here 
I must beg my reader to understand that in using 
the word " hiring," it is altogether foreign from my 
intention to express any thing in the least degree 
offensive to christian ministers of any denomination. 
That a considerable proportion of these persons, 
are truly the servants of the Lord Jesus, — that many 
of them undertake the oversight of the flock " not 
for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind," and are in- 
comparably more intent upon the winning of souls, 
than upon their own temporal advantage, — I both 
know and am happy to acknowledge. But we are 
here discussing a general principle, and I use the 
word in question, simply because it is the only one 
which can properly express my meaning. It is then, 
indisputably, a practice prevalent in many christian 
societies, to hire their ministers ; that is to say, to 
engage the services of their ministers in considera- 
tion of pecuniary salaries. As a gentleman agrees 
with his servant, and a merchant with his clerk, to 
pay them particular sums of money, on condition of 
the performance of particular descriptions of work; 
so are christians accustomed to agree with the 
preachers of the gospel, to remunerate them with 
such and such salaries, on condition of their preach- 
ing ; and instances sometimes occur in which the 
amount of the salary given, is regulated, very pre- 



OF THE MINISTERS OF THE GOSPEL. 203 

cisely, by the frequency of the ministry required. 
Whether this agreement actually takes place be- 
tween the minister and his flock, as among many 
dissenting bodies; or whether the contract between 
the two parties is permanently fixed by the law of 
the land, as in the Anglican church, the principle 
which the system necessarily and universally in- 
volves, is still the same — namely, that certain work 
is to be performed, and pecuniary wages given for 
its performance. 

According to our apprehension, this hiring of 
preachers degrades the character, and corrupts the 
practical operation, of the ministry of the gospel. 
It is evident that such a system is very closely con- 
nected with the notion, that the preacher may ex- 
ercise his high functions on the authority and ac- 
cording to the pleasure of man, and in practice it 
unquestionably tends in a very injurious manner, 
to the confirmation and establishment of that no- 
tion. Were it true that the ministry of the gospel 
is properly the work of man, requiring no other 
sanction than his appointment, and no other forces 
than his exertions, no objection whatever could be 
made to such a method of proceeding. In that case 
it would arise out of those fundamental laws of jus- 
tice, which ought ever to regulate transactions be- 
tween man and man. But no sooner is the oppo- 
site principle recognized ; no sooner is it admitted 
that the ministry of the gospel is the work of the 
Lord ; that it can be rightly exercised only in virtue 
of his appointment, and only through the effusions 
of his Spirit; and that man has no power to com- 



204 ON THE PECUNIARY REMUNERATION 

mand and no authority to restrain the influence 
which leads into such a service — no sooner are these 
things understood and allowed — than the compact 
which binds the minister to preach, on the condi- 
tion that his hearers shall pay him for his preach- 
ing, assumes the character of absolute inconsistency 
with the spirituality of the christian religion — 
"Though I preach the gospel," says the apostle 
Paul, " I have nothing to glory of: for necessity is 
laid upon me: yea, ivoe is unto me, if I preach not 
the gospel! For if I do this thing willingly, I have 
a reward ; but if against my will, a dispensation of 
the gospel is committed unto me" I. Cor. ix. 16, 17. 
These observations will enable the reader to form 
a just view of the reasons which actuate the Society 
of Friends, when, on the one hand, they accede to 
the doctrine, that the ox when treading out the corn 
is not to be muzzled; and when, on the other hand, 
they totally abstain from engaging their ministers 
on pecuniary stipends, and from otherwise paying 
them for the exercise of their gift. Such pecuniary 
provisions would indeed be in total dissonance with 
our sentiment, that no ministry ought to be allowed 
in connexion with divine worship, but such as ori- 
ginates in the choice and appointment of the Lord, 
and is exercised under the immediate influence of 
his Holy Spirit. It has never been heard of in the 
whole annals of sacred history, that prophecy has 
been purchased, or the true prophets hired: and we 
apprehend that, whether the immediate gifts of the 
Spirit operate in a higher or a lower degree, they 
are still in their nature absolutely free. No man 



OF THE MINISTERS OF THE GOSPEL. 



205 



can exercise them in pursuance of an agreement 
with his fellow creatures. They are delayed, with- 
held, withdrawn, or poured forth, according to the 
good pleasure of him, who searches the reins and 
the heart, and who only knows the needs of his own 
church. Those who preach under such an influ- 
ence, do not preach because their congregation re- 
quires it of them ; but because their hearts are filled 
with the love of Christ, and because they are sent 
forth and impelled by the Spirit of the Lord, and 
can find no rest for their consciences, but in obe- 
dience to that Spirit. Our ministers cannot say to 
us, ; Pay us and we will preach ;" for a woe is upon 
them if they preach not the gospel; and the same 
injunction is laid upon them as upon the servants 
of God in ancient times — " Freely ye have received, 
freely give :" Matt. x. 8. There is not one of them, 
who is truly called into the work, who would dare 
to receive from the hands of men a payment for his 
labours, lest he should thereby sin against God, 
w T ho requires of him a willing sacrifice, and should 
for ever prevent the effusion of that heavenly oil 
by which he has been anointed; nor would his 
brethren dare to propose such a payment to himj 
lest a curse should come upon them — the curse 
of spiritual darkness and desertion — for presuming 
that the free gifts of God might be purchased for 
money; Acts viii. 20. In addressing our ministers 
we would use the words of the apostle Peter : " As 
every man hath received the gift, even so minister 
the same one to another, as good stewards of the 
manifold grace of God. If any man speak, let him 



206 ON THE PECUNIARY REMUNERATION 

speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, 
let him do it as of the ability which God giveth ; 
that God in all things may be glorified through Je- 
sus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for 
ever and ever;" I. Pet. iv. 10, 11 : and we would 
add, cast all your care upon the Lord, for he careth 
for you. 

In point of fact, experience has furnished the So- 
ciety of Friends with ample evidence, that the Great 
Head of the church who calls his own servants into 
the work of the gospel, and who thus gently con- 
strains them in behalf of others, as well as on their 
own account, to " seek first the kingdom of God and 
his righteousness ;" adds unto them all things need- 
ful for their temporal maintenance^. When they are 
travelling from place to place, and when their whole 
tinie is thus exclusively devoted to the work of the 
gospel, the necessary supply of their outward wants 
is not withheld from them ; and when they are at 
home, they avail themselves, like other persons, of 
their own industry, and of the openings of a be- 
nevolent providence, in procuring for themselves 
and for their families, an honest and respectable 
livelihood. 

Such being the sentiments of Friends respecting 
the direct spirituality and perfect freedom of the mi- 
nistry of the gospel, it evidently becomes their duty, 
in a plain and consistent manner, to uphold those 
sentiments in their practice. Not only, therefore, 
do they refuse to pay or hire their own ministers, 
but they also decline making any contributions to 
the paying or hiring of ministers of other denomi- 



OF THE MINISTERS OF THE GOSPEL. 20/ 

nations. Did they act otherwise, they might just- 
ly be deemed unfaithful to the light bestowed upon 
them, and they would in fact be subverting with one 
hand the edifice which they are professing to erect 
with the other. 

The reader will be aw r are that I am now advert- 
ing to the course so generally pursued in our socie- 
ty, in reference to tithes and other ecclesiastical 
imposts. It is certain that whenever these demands 
are made on the true and consistent Friend, he will 
not fail to refuse the payment of them : not because 
such refusal is generally insisted on in the society ; 
but because the religious sentiments which he has 
embraced, and which have been explained in these 
essays, inevitably lead him, if he be faithful, into that 
result. He feels that it is a duty laid upon him by 
his divine Master, uniformly to maintain the spirit- 
uality and freedom of the christian ministry, nor 
will he venture, by any action of his own, to lay 
waste his principle, and to weaken the force of truth, 
with respect to so important a subject. Such an 
action the voluntary payment of tithes must unques- 
tionably be considered. 

This conclusion is by no means affected by the 
consideration, that the payment of tithes is imposed 
on the inhabitants of this country by the law of the 
land; and that therefore the clergy have a legal 
claim to such a remuneration. Faithful as Friends 
desire to be to the legal authorities of the state under 
which they live, it is plain that as christians they 
cannot render to the law an active obedience in any 
particular which interferes with their religious duty 



208 ON THE PECUNIARY REMUNERATION 

—that is to say, with their duty to an infinitely su- 
perior power. They cannot obey man rather than 
God. The only obedience to the law, which can 
be allowable under such circumstances, is that which 
the most scrupulous Quaker will not be found to 
withhold — I mean a passive obedience. It is no 
part of the practice, and it would be altogether in- 
consistent with the sentiments, of the society, to 
resist the " powers that be." In those matters in 
which they find an active compliance with the law 
precluded by the dictates of conscience, Friends are, 
I trust, prepared to suffer, and quietly to allow the 
law to find its own course. While they abstain 
from taking any part themselves in those things 
which they deem to be wrong, they are ready to 
stand still and abide by the consequences. On 
these grounds, therefore, although they refuse to 
pay tithes, they oppose no resistance to those legal 
distraints by which tithes are taken from them. It 
is surprising that any persons of reflection should 
form an opinion (not unfrequently expressed,) that 
there is no essential distinction between these prac- 
tices, and should assert that the suffering of the dis- 
traint, in a moral and religious point of view, is tan- 
tamount to the voluntary payment. The two courses 
are, in point of fact, the respective results of two 
opposite principles. The Friend who voluntarily 
pays tithes* puts forth his hand to that which he 
professes to regard as an unclean thing, and actively 
contributes to the maintenance of a system, which 
is in direct contrariety to his own religious views. 
The Friend who refuses to pay tithes, but who 



OF THE MINISTERS OF THE GOSPEL. 209 

(without involving himself in any secret compromise,) 
quietly suffers a legal distraint for them; is clear of 
any action which contradicts his own principles. 
He only follows up another branch of those princi- 
ples, in not opposing force to force, and in render- 
ing a passive obedience to the law.* 

It would by no means accord with that quietness 
of character, which it is the desire of Friends to 
maintain as a religious body, were thev eager and 
violent in their efforts to promote their own pecu- 
liarities, or clamorous against other christians who 
differ from themselves. Nevertheless, they consi- 
der it to be their indispensable duty, by the explicit, 

* It is sometimes remarked that, in refusing to pay tithes, Friends with- 
hold the property of their neighbour, and thus, in their endeavour not to 
counteract their own views on the subject of a free ministry of the gospel, 
involve themselves in a breach of common integrity. Now, it appears to 
us that such a charge is wholly fallacious. Although, in the first place, 
the conscientious Friend cannot take any active part in the satisfaction of 
ecclesiastical demands, he opposes no obstruction to those legal operations 
by which that satisfaction is, without difficulty, obtained. And secondly, 
we deem the notion that any part of the produce of our lands is the pro- 
perty of the priest, to be destitute of any sound foundation. If it is his 
property, his title to it must be clear and unexceptionable. On what, then, 
rests the title of the priest to this supposed property? On the assumption 
of a divine right to the tithes on the part of the church, and on the recog- 
nition of that divine right by the Kjritish legislature. See Statutes at large, 
29 Hen. VIII. ch. 20. Since almost all Protestants allow that no such right 
exists, and since, for our own parts, we are persuaded that the assumption 
of it is directly opposed to some of the leading principles of Christianity, we 
cannot admit that the priest has any valid title whatsoever to a property in 
any part of the produce of our lands. His claim, however groundless in 
itself, is indeed sanctioned by the law of the state; and the individual who 
buys land, pays a smaller sum of money than he otherwise would have 
done for his purchase, because it is known by both parties that a certain 
proportion of that which is annually grown upon it, can be legally claimed, 
and will be actually taken, by the ecclesiastical incumbent. Nevertheless, 
every particle of the land which a man purchases, or inherits in fee, is his 
own property; so that he can at all times use it as he pleases;-—crop it 
profitably — crop it unprofitably — or allow it to run to absolute waste and 
ruin. And as every particle of the land is his own property, so also is 
every particle of its produce ; unless, indeed, he let the land to another 
person, when the produce of it becomes, on certain conditions, the pvu 
perty of his tenant. 

2p 



210 ON THE PECUNIARY REMUNERATION 

yet unobtrusive, language of conduct, to bear what 
they very properly call their testimony against such 
opinions and practices as they conceive to be incon- 
sistent with the spirituality of the gospel dispensa- 
tion. This observation is completely exemplified 
in their refusal to pay tithes. By such a conduct, 
they expose themselves to much expense and in- 
convenience which might otherwise be avoided; 
but by the course which they have thus adopted, 
they not only keep themselves clear from any in- 
volvement in that which they conscientiously dis- 
approve, but they plainly express their dissent 
from that system of sentiment and practice out 
of which the institution of tithes has arisen, and 
with which it is still inseparably connected. A 
few observations respecting some of the particu- 
lars against which Friends endeavour thus practi- 
cally to testify, will enable the reader to form a 
more complete view of the whole subject. 

By a refusal to pay tithes, then they express their 
dissent, first, from the practice, so prevalent in the 
christian world, of hiring and paying the ministers 
of religion ; secondly, from that description of mi- 
nistry which is capable of being so procured — 
which is capable of being exercised at a man's own 
time, and in pursuance of an agreement with his 
fellow creatures; thirdly, from those human ap- 
pointments to the ministry originating respectively 
with the bishop and with the patron, by means of 
which the clergyman is invested with a legal claim 
to the tithes of any parish. On these three points 
I have already endeavoured to unfold the senti- 



OF THE MINISTERS OF THE GOSPEL. 211 

ments of our Society. It only remains for me, 
therefore, to invite the reader's attention, some- 
what more particularly, to two other branches of 
the same subject. 

In the fourth place, therefore, it may be remark- 
ed that, by refusing to pay tithes, Friends express 
their dissent from a notion very commonly enter- 
tained — especially among persons who have re- 
ceived but little religious instruction — that the sa- 
cerdotal office is continued in the church of Christ 
The institution of tithes in the christian church, is 
generally supposed to have taken place during the 
fourth century; or rather, the contributions made 
for the poor began about that period to be denomi- 
nated tithes. By degrees these contributions were 
diverted from their original channel, and were ap- 
plied, either in part, or in whole, to the pecuniary 
remuneration of the ministers of religion. At length 
during the progress of the middle ages, and after 
kings, emperors, and states, had very generally fall- 
en under the spiritual dominion of the papacy, the 
tenth of the produce of the land was boldly claimed 
by the clergy as appertaining to them of divine 
right; and thus, for the partial and voluntary offer- 
ings of former days, was gradually substituted a 
general and compuslory tax. See Rees* Cyc. Tithes. 
Great case of Tithes, by A. Pearson, &c. &c. Now 
it is certain that while these changes were taking 
place, the professors of the religion of Christ were 
quickly degenerating from the simplicity and puri- 
ty of their forefathers, and were retrograding in 
the most obvious manner, into the ceremonial sys- 



212 ON THE PECUNIARY REMUNERATION 

tern of the old Jewish law. It is more especially to 
our purpose to observe, that from the fourth century 
downwards, the ministers and bishops of the church 
were taught to consider their office sacerdotal, and 
to assume the obsolete titles of priests and high 
priests.* Since, therefore, under the Jewish law, 
tithes were appointed for the maintenance of the 
tribe of Levi, and especially for the support of the 
priests, upon whom lay the duty of sacrifice and 
intercession, and the charge of the whole ritual 
daily practised in the Lord's temple ; there is evi- 
dently a strong probability that the assumption of 
a right to tithes by the clergy of the christian church, 
arose immediately out of the notion that the priest- 
hood — the sacerdotal office — still existed, and was 
still to be maintained. 

This notion derives, in modern times, no little 
support from the ambiguity of the word Priest, 
which, as it is employed in the established forms 
of many christian churches, probably signifies no- 
thing more than Presbyter: but which is neverthe- 
less generally understood to denote a person in- 
vested with the sacerdotal office. Now, although 
the total abolition of that office is asserted by many 
enlightened writers, it is certain that the opposite 
error vulgarly prevails to a great extent, and is 
productive of very injurious practical consequences. 
In Roman Catholic countries a dependence is noto- 
riously placed on the priesthood, which can be ex- 
plained or justified only on the principle that the 
office of the christian minister is directly sacerdo- 

* n£u; and rt^/sgs/?, Scq Suiceri TTies. in voc. a^vc. 



OF THE MINISTERS OP THE GOSPEL. 213 

tal ; nor can it be denied that remnants of the same 
superstition — of the same undue reliance on the au- 
thority and mediation of the priest — are very usual 
even in our own land. 

Were it true that the sacerdotal office is conti- 
nued in the church of Christ, Friends could with 
no propriety refuse the payment of tithes, which 
w T ere divinely appointed for its maintenance ; and 
therefore they consider that in refusing to pay tithes, 
they explicitly uphold the doctrine, that the office 
in question is abolished. That doctrine is allowed 
by the generality of well-instructed Protestants, nor 
will the reader entertain any doubts on the subject 
after an attentive perusal of the seventh, eighth, 
ninth, and tenth, chapters of the epistle of Paul to 
the Hebrews. It is, indeed, altogether an error to 
suppose that the duty of the preacher was ever ne- 
cessarily connected with the office of the priest — 
In the more ancient periods of the Israelitish histo- 
ry, that duty lay not upon the priests, who were 
consecrated for the service of the temple, but upon 
the prophets. Afterwards in the ministration of 
the synagogue service of the Jews, one only of the 
seven persons who read the Scriptures and dis- 
coursed to the people, was required to be of the 
sacerdotal order; and even his place might be sup- 
plied, in case of need, by any other Israelite; See 
Prideanx's Con. fol. ed. vol i. p. 306. But how- 
ever the preaching of the word might be ordered 
among the Jews before the introduction of Chris- 
tianity, it is certain that the ceremonial law, the 
priesthood by which it was administered, and the 



214 ON THE PECUNIARY REMUNERATION 

provision appointed for the maintenance of that 
priesthood, ceased in point of authority on the death 
of Christ, when the whole typical and ritual system 
was fulfilled and abrogated. It was for the Jews 
of old to approach their Almigthy Governor, through 
the mediation, intercession, and sacrificial ordi- 
nances, of a human priesthood ; but it is the happi- 
ness of christians, to acknowledge no other Media- 
tor than our Lord Jesus Christ, who is " made a 
priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec," 
Heb. vi. 20 : who is " a high priest over the house 
of God," ch. x. 21 : who is " touched with the feel- 
ing of our infirmities," ch. iv. 15 : who "by one of- 
fering hath perfected forever them that are sancti- 
fied," ch. x. 14: who is able to save them to the 
uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he 
ever liveth to make intercession for them," ch. vii. 
25. 

I have already found occasion to observe that the 
legality of ecclesiastical claims, is no just or suffi- 
cient cause, why Friends should take any active 
part in satisfying them. I may now advance a step 
farther, and remark, that the establishment of such 
claims by the law of the civil state is in itself one 
reason, among others, which renders a refusal to 
comply with them binding on their consciences. — 
For, by refusing to pay tithes and other ecclesias- 
tical demands imposed upon them by the law of 
the land, they express their dissent, in the fifth and 
last place, from that compulsory support of the 
hierarchy which originated during the darkest ages 
of papal superstition ; and generally from the in- 



OP THE MINISTERS OF THE GOSPEL. 215 

terference of merely human and civil authority with 
the affairs of religion. 

No one who takes a calm and just view of the 
condition of mankind, will deny the usefulness and 
importance, within their own sphere, of established 
forms of government, and of those various restric- 
tions and regulations, by which the order and com- 
fort of civil society are promoted and maintained ; 
and the reader is probably well aware that Friends, 
as well as other christians, consider it to be their 
bounden duty in civil matters, to obey " the powers 
that be," and to be faithful in rendering "unto 
Caesar the things which are Caesars ;" Matt. xxii. 
21. We apprehend, however, that the affairs of 
religion appertain not to any civil polity ; but to the 
kingdom of heaven, or as it is otherwise described, 
the kingdom of God and of Christ. Although, if 
we are true christians, we cannot fail to render to 
our earthly rulers, the homage and service which 
are their due ; yet in those things which appertain 
to the salvation of the soul, we profess to call no 
man Master, but to live under the undivided reign 
of Christ himself. The law which christians are 
bound in such matters to obey, is revealed in the 
Holy Scriptures, and is engraven on their hearts, 
and we believe that their celestial Monarch exer- 
cises his dominion over them principally by an un- 
seen and spiritual agency, with which no mortal, 
nor set of mortals, can ever possess authority to in- 
terfere. Now, this kingdom or reign of Christ is not 
of this world. The head of it is almighty; and, in 
the prosecution of his gracious designs for the ex- 



216 ON THE PECUNIARY REMUNERATION 

tension, edification, and final perfection of his church, 
we are persuaded that he neither requires the pro- 
tection, nor sanctions the interference, of the laws 
and governments of men.* 

The history of the last eighteen centuries does, 
indeed, afford, in various ways, a strong presumptive 
evidence that the cause of true Christianity has very 
materially suffered in the world, in consequence of 
the forced and arbitrary connexion between two 
systems, founded on such different principles, regu- 
lated by such different laws, and directed to such 
different objects, as those of the church and the 
state, While it does not appear that the state has 
derived any real advantage from its supposed union 
with the church; it is probably in great measure the 
consequence of such a union (invented and con- 
trived as it has been by the wisdom of man) that 
the church has assumed, in almost all christian coun- 
tries, so secular a character — that Christianity has 
become so lamentably mixed up with the spirit, 
maxims, motives, and politics, of a vain and evil 
world. Had the union in question never been at- 
tempted, pure religion might probably have found 

* In thus stating 1 a very important general sentiment, there are two or 
three points which I think it desirable to guard. In the first place, it 
ought to be observed that there is nothing in that sentiment, intended to 
be opposed to those internal regulations which are adopted, for the main- 
tenance of its own order, by every religious society; for I conceive that if 
such regulations are properly formed, and the officers on whom it devolves 
to execute them are rightly appointed, the discipline thus established in the 
church, is so far from interfering with the government of Christ, that it is 
rather to be considered (according to various declarations of Scripture,) 
as one of the means through which that government is conducted. And in 
the second place, it cannot be deemed, on religious grounds, objection- 
able, when the civil authorities come forward, either by the exertion of 
prerogative, or by the enactment of law, to prevent those various breaches 
of christian morality, (including drunkenness, gaming, Sec.) which plainly 
interfere with the true welfare of the body politic. 



OP THE MINISTERS OF THE GOSPEL. 217 

a freer course ; the practical effects of Christianity 
might have been more unmixed and more exten- 
sive ; and it might have spread its influence in a 
much more efficient manner than is now the case, 
even over the laws and politics of kings and nations. 

It was in the reign of the emperor Constantine 
(a. d. 325) that the christian religion was first esta- 
blished by law, forced into connexion with the body 
politic, and handled as a matter appertaining to the 
state. Now, though we ought not to attribute to a 
single cause an effect which may have had its ori- 
gin in many, we cannot but be confirmed in our 
view of the present subject, when we remember, 
that, before its union with the state, our holy reli- 
gion flourished with comparative incorruptness ; 
and that afterwards it gradually declined in its puri- 
ty and its power, until all was nearly lost in dark- 
ness, superstition, and spiritual tyramxy. 

Independently, however, of these considerations, 
which relate to the interference of civil authority 
with the affairs of religion in general; there appears 
to be a distinct moral objection to the legal establish- 
ment, in any country, of a particular form of Chris- 
tianity, to the disparagement of other modifications 
of the same essential religion. However the pro- 
visions of such a legal establishment may have been 
rendered liberal and softened down (as has been so 
evidently the case in Great Britain,) by the power- 
ful operation, on the legislature, of public opinion ; 
it may reasonably be questioned, whether there 
must not always exist in these provisions a radical 
opposition to a free, unbiassed, and inexclusive, re- 

<> i? 

— i'j 



218 ON THE PECUNIARY REMUNERATION 

ligious liberty. I would therefore suggest, that we 
cannot, conscientiously, contribute in an active man- 
ner, by the voluntary payment of tithes or church 
rates, to the maintenance of the Established Church; 
not only because we object to the system on which 
it is, in various respects, conducted; but also because 
it appears to be inconsistent with the divine law, 
that any human government should compel us, either 
to adopt for ourselves, or to uphold for others, a 
mode of religious ivorship at variance ivith our own 
principles* 

On the review of this essay, it will be recollected 
that in the New Testament, and especially in the 
writings of Paul, the doctrine is clearly promulgated 
that the preacher, when actually labouring in the 
cause of the gospel, has a claim upon those who 
hear him, for the supply of his outward wants — that 
Paul, while he allowed and even enforced this doc- 
trine, was exceedingly jealous (as was proved by 
his own conduct) of its being in any respect per- 
verted or abused — that, according to the opinion of 
Friends, it is dangerously perverted and abused in 
the practice, so prevalent among christians, of hir- 
ing the preachers of the word — that such a practice 
degrades the character of the christian ministry, 
and is closely connected with the notion, that it may 
be brought into exercise according to the will of 

* It ought to be noticed that, although several observations offered in 
the present chapter relate specifically to tithes, most of them arc, on gene- 
ral grounds, equally applicable to other ecclesiastical taxes, such as those 
denominated church rates. Tithes and church rates, though differently ap- 
plied in detail, are intended for the support of one and the "same system: and 
the Friend who refuses to pay church rates, as well as he who refuses to 
pay tithes, thereby expresses his dissent from that system. 



OF THE MINISTERS OF THE GOSPEL. 219 

man — that since Friends admit no preaching or pub- 
lic praying, but such as they deem to be offered 
under the immediate influence of the Spirit, they 
cannot pay, or otherwise remunerate, the Lord's 
servants for the use of a gift which is of a nature 
entirely free ; but they hold, that as every man has 
received the gift, so he is bound to minister it — that 
the preachers among Friends, when engaged in 
itinerant labours, are supported by their brethren ; 
and, when resident at home, find, in general, no dif- 
ficulty in maintaining themselves — that the same 
principle which prevents Friends from hiring or 
pa} ing their own ministers, prevents their contri- 
buting to the hiring or paying of those of other de- 
nominations — that in their refusal to comply with 
ecclesiastical demands, they bear a practical testi- 
mony against all such hiring and paying of preach- 
ers ; against that description of ministry, which is 
capable of being so procured; against those appoint- 
ments to the sacred office, which introduce to the 
possession of a claim on tithes; against the vulgar 
notion that the sacerdotal office is continued in the 
church; against the forced maintenance of the clergy, 
and the arbitrary union of church and state; and 
against the legal obligation to maintain, either for 
themselves or others, a system of religious worship 
inconsistent with their own views. 

In concluding this dissertation, I cannot be satis- 
fied without remarking, that our refusal to comply 
with ecclesiastical demands arises from a desire to 
uphold certain principles which we deem to be both 
true and important, and is not, I trust, in any mea- 



220 ON THE PECUNIARY REMUNERATION 

sure dictated by a spirit of enmity against the par- 
ticular church established by law in this country- 
On the contrary, we regard the members of that 
church with a friendly eye, and rejoice in the evi- 
dent extension of true religion within her borders. 
For my own part, I consider it only justice to avow, 
that I know of few persons who are more generally 
free from useless prejudices, more zealous in the 
cause of religion, and more ready for every good 
word and work, than many serious and devoted 
ministers of the Anglican church. It may, more- 
over, be remarked, that some of them whose labours 
of love are abundant, receive very small pecuniary 
stipends ; and that others make a point of expending 
their whole parochial income, in relieving the neces*- 
sities of their poor neighbours, and in promoting 
other objects of a benevolent nature, 

To such individuals we might safely make our 
appeal respecting the practical excellence of those 
views which have been unfolded in the present chap- 
ter. Without any fear of an answer in the negative, 
we might address to them the enquiry, whether they 
do not find that the sacrifice of their personal in- 
terest is a vast advantage to them in their minis- 
terial labours; whether it is not a circumstance 
which gives great currency to the doctrine preach- 
ed by them, that they derive little or no temporal 
advantage from preaching it, and that in the pro- 
mulgation of divine truth they are known to be ac- 
tuated by no other motives than a sense of religious 
duty, and an ardent love towards God and man ? 
While, therefore, we encourage a liberal and friend- 



OF THE MINISTERS OF THE GOSPEL. 221 

ly feeling towards our fellow-christians of every de- 
nomination — while we readily make allowances for 
the various circumstances and conditions in which 
they are placed — it is certain that we cannot be too 
faithful in upholding our own testimony against the 
paying and hiring of preachers. For have we not 
reason to believe that the further the church of 
Christ on earth advances in her great career, the 
more generally will serious persons of other reli- 
gious professions sympathize with our solicitude, 
that the contrivances of man may not be allowed to 
interfere with the work of God ; that avarice, ambi- 
tion and selfishness, may be for ever excluded from 
the motives which lead christians into the profess- 
ed service of their divine Master; and that the stan- 
dard may be more and more elevated among be- 
lievers, of such a ministry of the gospel, as shall be 
exclusively spiritual in its origin, and absolutely free 
in its operation ? 



CHAPTER VIII. 



ON THE MINISTRY OF WOMEN. 

While, by the bulk of the christian world, the 
public preaching and praying of women is strictly 
excluded^ and it is even considered as an indispu- 
table doctrine, that the duties which peculiarly ap- 
pertain to their character and station in society, and 
the offices of the christian ministry, are absolutely 
incompatible ; Friends believe it right, freely and 
equally to allow the ministry of both sexes. That 
this is indeed a necessary consequence of those 
sentiments respecting the ministry which I have 
already endeavoured to unfold, must be plain to the 
reflecting reader. Since we conceive, on the one 
hand, that all true ministr}' is uttered under the 
immediate influence of the Spirit of Christ; and 
since, on the other hand, we confess that the wind 
bloweth where it listeth — we cannot reasonably do 
otherwise than make way for the exercise of the 
gift by those persons, of every description, whom 
the Spirit may direct into the service, and whom 
the Great Head of the church may be pleased to 
appoint as his instruments, for the performance of 
his o\vn work. It is, indeed, declared that "the 
spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets/' 
and hence it may be inferred that in the conduct of 
our gifts, we ought not to neglect the dictates of a 
sound and enlightened discretion : but we believe 



*>N THE MINISTRY OF WOMEN. 223 

that we must not limit the Holy One of Israel, or 
oppose to the counsels of infinite wisdom our own 
fallible and unauthorized determinations. We dare 
not say to the modest and pious female, "Thou 
shalt not declare the word of the Lord," when we 
believe that, from an infinitely higher authority, 
there is issued a directly opposite injunction, "Thou 
shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever 
I command thee, thou shalt speak." 

Now, that women are often led to proclaim the 
word of the Lord amongst us — that it is laid upon 
them as an indispensable duty — that they are from 
time to time constrained, under the influence of the 
Spirit, to rise up in our assemblies for w r orship, in 
order to instruct, exhort, convince, and console ; or 
to kneel down and address the Most High, as the 
organs of the congregation ; and further, that their 
services of this description are frequently accom- 
panied with life and power, and greatly tend to the 
edification of their hearers — are facts, the truth of 
which long experience has taught us ; and which no 
persons who are intimately acquainted with our so- 
ciety, will be disposed to deny. 

Nor is there anv thing either astonishing or novel 
in this particular direction of the gifts of the Spirit. 
Nothing astonishing, because there is no respect of 
persons with God; the soul of the woman, in his 
sight, is as the soul of the man, and both are alike 
susceptible of the extraordinary as well as of the 
general influences of his Spirit. Nothing novel, 
because, in the sacred records of antiquity, there 
are found numerous examples of women as well as 



224 ON THE MINISTRY OP WOMEN. 

of men, who were impelled to speak to others on 
matters of religion, by the direct and immediate 
visitations of the Holy Ghost. It was, doubtless, 
under such an influence, that Miriam responded to 
the song of Moses ; that Deborah uttered her Psalm 
of triumph ; that Hannah poured forth in the tem- 
ple her acceptable thanksgivings; that Huldah pro- 
phesied to king Josiah and his officers; that the 
aged Anna spake of Christ " to all them that looked 
for redemption in Israel ;" that Elizabeth addressed 
the mother of her Lord ; and that Mary sung praises 
to her God and Saviour. Of the individuals now 
mentioned, Miriam, Deborah, and Huldah, are ex- 
pressly denominated prophetesses. The wife of 
Isaiah was a prophetess ; Isa. viii. 3. We read also 
of false prophetesses — a circumstance which affords 
an obvious indication that there were true prophet- 
esses, who were the objects of their imitation, and 
from whom they were distinguished; Ezek. xiii. 17, 
Neh. vi. 14. 

Among the early ministers of the gospel dispen- 
sation, particular mention is made of the four daugh- 
ters of Philip, who prophesied or preached; Acts 
xxi. 9, comp. xv. 32, 1. Cor. xiv. 3. The same office 
probably devolved, in a very eminent manner, on 
Priscilla the wife of Aquila, to whom all the churches 
of the Gentiles gave thanks, and whom Paul ex- 
pressly denominates his "helper," or, as in the 
Greek, his "fellow-labourer in Christ ;" Rom. xvi. 
3, 4, comp. Greek text of ver. 21, II. Cor. viii. 23, 
Phil. ii. 25, I. Thes. iii. 2. Again, on another oc- 
casion, the apostle speaks of the women who " la- 



ON THE MINISTRY OP WOMEN. 225 

boured" with him " in the gospel ;" Phil. iv. 3. In 
order, however, to establish the point now under 
consideration, nothing farther would be necessary 
than a reference to the history given in the book gf 
Acts of that great day of Pentecost, when the Spirit 
was so abundantly poured forth on the disciples of 
the Lord Jesus. It is recorded in that history, that 
when the men and women were collected together, 
to the number of about one hundred and twenty, 
they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and spake 
as the Spirit gave them utterance; ch. i. 14, 15, ii. 
1 — 4. Here we have the declaration of a plain and 
indisputable fact ; and that fact is of the more im- 
portance because of its correspondence with the 
prediction of the prophet Joel. It was expressly 
provided and ordained, as is amply proved by that 
celebrated prediction, that in the last days, or under 
the last dispensation, the Spirit should be poured 
forth " upon all flesh" — that no distinction should 
in this respect be made between the male and the 
female — that the daughters as well as the sons; the 
handmaidens as well as the servants, should receive 
the heavenly gift and prophesy ; Acts ii. 16 — 18. 

On the opposite side of the question, however, it 
has often been remarked, that Paul in one passage 
of his epistles, has commanded women " to keep si- 
lence in the churches" and in another declares, that 
he suffers them not " to teach ." The passages al- 
luded to are as follows : " Let your women keep 
silence in the churches : for it is not permitted unto 
them to speak ; but they are commanded to be un- 
der obedience, as also saith the law. And if they 

2 F 



226 ON THE MINISTRY OP WOMEN. 

will learn any thing, let them ask their husbands at 
home : for it is a shame for women to speak in the 
church ;" I. Cor. xiv. 34, 35. Again : " I will, there- 
fpre, that men pray every where, lifting up holy 
hands, without wrath and doubting. In like manner, 
also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, 

with shamefacedness and sobriety, &c Let the 

woman learn in silence with all subjection. But I 
suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority 
over the man, but to be in silence ; for Adam was 
first formed, then Eve;" I. Tim. ii. 8 — 13. 

Now, on the comparison of these injunctions with 
the other passages of Scripture already cited, and 
especially with the prophecy of Joel, and the his- 
tory of its fulfilment, the interpreter of the sacred 
volume appears to be driven into one of two deci- 
sions: the first, that the apostles and prophets, whose 
works must be ultimately traced to the same divine 
Author, have contradicted one another; and this on 
a point of considerable practical importance : the 
second, that the public speaking of women, so po- 
sitively forbidden by Paul, was not that description 
of speaking which arose out of the immediate im- 
pulses of the Holy Spirit. 

Even were it impossible to throw any farther light 
on the question, I presume there are few readers of 
Scripture, who would hesitate in choosing the latter 
alternative ; especially since it is quite unreasonable 
to suppose that the apostle would venture to forbid 
any administration which was inspired, and which 
was therefore fully sanctioned by his divine Master. 
But in the adoption of that alternative, we are yet 
further confirmed by critical investigation. 



ON THE MINISTRY OF WOMEN. 227 

In the former of these passages the clue to the 
apostle's real meaning, in forbidding the public 
speaking of women, will be found in the words of 
v. 35 — "And if they tvill learn any thing" says he, 
" let them ask their husbands at home" It has al- 
ready been observed, that the whole of this chapter 
of the epistle to the Corinthians, relates to their as- 
semblies for divine worship, and was intended to 
correct certain abuses which had rendered those 
assemblies unprofitable and disorderly. Now in 
the Jewish synagogues, after the pattern of which 
the meetings for worship of the earliest christians 
were probably in many respects regulated, it was 
customary for the hearers to interrogate the ministers 
on such points of their doctrine as might require 
further explanation; See Lightfoot, Hor. Heb. in 
loc. : and it appears probable that a similar practice 
had been introduced in the church of Corinth, and 
that the women of that church were remarkably 
prone to it. Such a practice might, under peculiar 
circumstances, be allowed to men ; and especially to 
the Elders and Overseers, who were possessed of 
authority in the body, and were the managers of 
the public congregations ; but it was evidently very 
inconsistent with that diffidence which ought ever 
to distinguish the character and deportment of fe- 
males. The apostle, therefore, enjoins them to keep 
silence in the church, and to restrain their eager 
desires for farther instruction, until they could ob- 
tain it in private, from their own husbands. " In 
the synagogue," says the learned Benson, " any man 
who had a mind might ask questions of his teachers, 



228 ON THE MINISTRY OF WOMEN. 

and demand a further explanation of what had been 
said. And this custom was also transferred into the 
primitive christian church, and that with the appro- 
bation of St. Paul. Only he would not permit the 
women to do so ; as the judaizers at Corinth would 
have had them. No ! if they wanted to have any 
farther instructions, they were to ask their own pa- 
rents or husbands at home ; and not enter into such 
conferences publicly in the church ;" On the Pub- 
lic Worship of the First Christians, Com. on Epist. 
vol. i. p. 628. Such then, we may conclude, was 
the public speaking forbidden by the apostle, and 
not that inspired ministry which originated in the 
will of Christ, and was immediately prompted by 
his Holy Spirit. 

The second passage above cited is worded in a 
manner somewhat obscure ; but appears to be best 
construed (according to the opinion of various com- 
mentators — see Poole's Synopsis,) as conveying an 
injunction that women, as well as men, should pray 
every where, lifting up holy hands without wrath 
and doubting.* Having issued this injunction to- 
gether with one relating to attire, the apostle pro- 
ceeds to command the women in the church of 
Ephesus (in conformity with his directions to those 
at Corinth) to " learn in silence with all subjection :" 
and further, he expressly declares that he suffers 
them not " to teach." The verb " to teach" is one 



* I. Tim. ii. 8, 9. Bcv\o/uai cuv Tr^co-iv^ta-Bcti ?cu$ av^gctc v> 7rttvrt tvnu, k. t. 
X. — 'fi<7<xuTac KAt t«c yuvciuag iv KctTct?oK» kco-imw, /juta cttJ'cug kulI o-axppoo-uviis, Koa-/uitv 
iaLurac, k. t. x. "I will, therefore, that men pray every where, &c. Like- 
wise also the women, in a modest dress; camp. I. Cor. xi. 5: (I would have 
them) adorn themselves with shamefacedness and sobriety," &c 



ON THE MINISTRY OF WOMEN. 229 

of very general import, and, together with its deri- 
vative nouns, is applied in Scripture to religious in- 
struction of various descriptions; but in this passage 
it probably designates a specific duty or faculty in 
the church, which is repeatedly distinguished by 
this apostle from the gift of prophecy or preaching ; 
Rom. xii. 6. 7, I. Cor. xii. 28, Eph. iv. 11. Now, 
although both these faculties, as enjoyed in the 
primitive church, are described as being divinely 
bestowed, there is reason to believe that the impulses 
of the Spirit were of a far more direct and positive 
nature in the one case than in the other. I conceive 
that the teaching which the apostle suffered not to 
be performed by women, differed from prophecying, 
or preaching, in three respects : first, that it was dic- 
tated rather by the general impressions of christian 
love and duty, than by any immediate inspiration ; 
for had it been immediately inspired, the apostle 
could not have forbidden it : secondly, that, although 
adapted to a variety of occasions, both private and 
public, it was not, like modem teaching, employed 
as the ministry of the word, in assemblies for wor- 
ship ; for all the various administrations employed 
in those assemblies, appear to be described in I. 
Cor. xiv. as spontaneous and divine effusions : third- 
ly, that, according to the hint given by the apostle 
in the passage before us, it involved the assumption 
of personal authority. This duty probably apper- 
tained in a particular manner to the Elders and Over- 
seers, whose calling it w r as to exercise a spiritual 
superintendence over others, and who were the ap- 
pointed guardians and governors of the flock. Thus 



230 ON THE MINISTRY OF WOMEN. 

tve learn from I. Tim. iii. 2, (as already stated) that 
the bishop or Overseer was to be apt to teach ; and 
from Eph. iv. 11, that certain persons who are there 
distinguished from the prophets or inspired ministers 
of the word, bore the joint character of " pastors 
and teachers." 

A very similar view of this passage is taken by 
Grotius. " To teach" says he, " was the office of 
the president (or bishop,) though he sometimes 
committed this branch of his duties to other persons, 
especially the Elders. The apostle suffers not the 
women to perform such an office — that is to say, 
not unless they have, and only while they have, the 
prophetical impulse. Prophecy is beyond the reach 
of positive laws;" Com. in loc. "The apostolic 
rule," says Benson, "was that, when they were un- 
der immediate inspiration, the women might pray 
or prophesy in the church. But when they were 
under no such inspiration they were not to speak ; 
i. e. neither to pray, nor read, teach, nor ask ques- 
tions, there;" vol. i. p. 620. 

That the interpretation now given of these pas- 
sages in Paul's epistles, is substantially correct — 
that he had no intention to forbid that ministry of 
women which arose out of the immediate impulses 
of the Holy Ghost — is rendered abundantly plain by 
another passage of his first epistle to the Corin- 
thians, in which he recognizes the public prophe- 
sj^ing of females, and gives particular directions re- 
specting their conduct and appearance, during the 
performance of that sacred duty. " Now I praise 
you, brethren," says he, " that ye remember me in 



ON THE MINISTRY OP WOMEN. 231 

all things, and keep the ordinances, as I delivered 
them unto you. But I would have you know, that 
the head of every man is Christ ; and the head of 
the woman is the man ; and the head of Christ is 
God. Every man praying or prophesying, having 
his head covered, dishonoureth his head. But every 
woman that prayeth or prophesieth, with her head 
uncovered, dishonoureth her head ; for that is even 
all one as if she were shaven. For if the woman be 
not covered, let her also be shorn ; but if it be a 
shame for a woman to be shorn or shaven, let her 
be covered . . . For this cause ought the woman to 
have power (or a covering) on her head because of 

the angels Judge in yourselves : is it comely 

that a woman pray unto God uncovered ? &c. ;" I. 
Cor. xi. 2 — 13. That this passage, as well as the 
fourteenth chapter of the same epistle, relates to 
the conduct of the Corinthian christians in their 
public assemblies for worship, is allowed by com- 
mentators, and is indeed evident from the whole 
tenor of the advice which is there imparted. The 
apostle, therefore, recognises the public prophesy- 
ing of females ; and since he gives directions re- 
specting their dress and deportment during the 
performance of this service, it is plain that he had 
no intention to forbid the service itself. With re- 
spect to the prophesying to which Paul has here 
alluded, as exercised bv both men and women in 
the churches of the saints, its nature has already 
been defined. The reader will remember that the 
gift was directed to the " edification, exhortation, 
and comfort" of believers ; and to the convincement 



232 ON THE MINISTRY OP WOMEN. 

of unbelievers and unlearned persons, See I. Cor. 
xiv. 3, 24, 25 : and that in fact it was nothing else 
than speaking aloud, either in prayer or preaching, 
under the direct and immediate influences of the 
Holy Ghost. 

Such, and such only, were the public services of 
women which the apostle recognised and allowed; 
and such was the ministry of females predicted by 
the prophet Joel, and described as so leading a fea- 
ture in the economy of the gospel dispensation. 

It appears then that the allowance of the public 
preaching and praying of women, in the Society of 
Friends, necessarily results from their principles re- 
specting the character of all true ministry — that we 
dare not in this respect, more than in any other, 
limit the Holy One of Israel in the exercise of his 
own prerogatives — that our practice in reference to 
the present subject is justified by the records of 
Scripture, respecting the effusions of the Spirit of 
God in times of old — that even under the legal dis- 
pensation many female servants of the Lord were 
called to the exercise of prophetical gifts — that of 
the gospel times, the common participation of those 
gifts by men and women, was a decisive character- 
istic — and that the injunctions of the apostle Paul 
against the public speaking and teaching of women, 
can only be understood (himself being witness) of 
speaking and teaching which were not inspired — 
which were not prophesying. 

Such are the general sentiments entertained in 
the Society of Friends respecting the ministry of 
women — a subject which suggests in conclusion one 
or two reflections of a practical nature. 



ON THE MINISTRY OF WOMEN. 233 

When the apostle Paul said, " I suffer not women 
to teach," he added " nor to usurp authority over the 
man ;" L Tim. ii. 12. Had the women in the church 
of Ephesus, after receiving this injunction, assumed 
the office of pastors ; had they attempted that de- 
scription of public teaching which was immediately 
connected with the government of the church ; they 
would have been guilty of infringing the apostle's 
precept, and would have usurped an improper au- 
thority over their brethren: but as long as their 
ministry was the result of the immediate influence 
of the Holy Spirit, and consisted in the orderly ex- 
ercise of the prophetic gift ; so long must they have 
been free from any imputation of that nature. Wo- 
men who speak in public assemblies for worship 
under such an influence, assume thereby no personal 
authority over others. They do not speak in their 
own name. They are the instruments through 
which divine instruction is communicated to the 
people ; but they are only the instruments ; and the 
doctrine which they preach derives its true weight 
and importance, not so much from the persons by 
whom it is uttered, as from that Being in whom it 
originates, and by whose Spirit it is prompted. — 
This remark is not only in accordance with the 
principles which obviously appertain to the present 
subject, but is confirmed, as many of my readers 
will be aware, by our own experience ; for we well 
know that there are no women, among us, more 
generally distinguished for modesty, gentleness, or- 
der, and a right submission to their brethren, than 

2g 



234 ON THE MINISTRY OF WOMEN. 

those who have been called by their divine Master 
into the exercise of the christian ministry. 

Lastly, I may venture to direct the attention of 
my friends to a fact which I deem to be worthy of 
the consideration of the Society; namely, that during 
the earlier periods of the history of Friends, the 
work of the ministry devolved much more generally 
and extensively upon the men, than upon the wo- 
men. If, in the present day, a similar result from 
our religious principles does not take place ; if, on 
the contrary, the ministry of the women is found 
rather to preponderate in the Society over that of 
the men; such a circumstance can by no means be 
deemed a favourable sign. Justified, as Friends 
appear to be, by the doctrine of Scripture, and by 
the powerful operations of the Spirit of Truth, in 
equally admitting the ministry of both sexes ; it is 
far indeed from being an indication of life and sound- 
ness in the body at large, when the stronger sex 
withdraws from the battles of the Lord, and leaves 
them to be fought by those whose physical weakness 
and delicacy have an obvious tendency to render 
them less fit for the combat. Were we of that 
stronger sex less devoted than Ave now are to secu- 
lar objects — were we less prone to a worldly spirit, 
and more diligent in seeking "jirst the kingdom of 
God and his righteousness" — there can be little 
doubt that we should be called forth in greater 
numbers into the arduous duties of the ministry of 
the gospel ; nor would the burthen of the word be 
found to rest, in so large a proportion as it now does* 
on our mothers, our sisters, and our daughters. 



CHAPTER IX. 



ON SILENT WORSHIP. 

Since Friends allow of no audible administrations 
in connexion with public worship, except such as 
arise out of the immediate impressions of the Holy 
Spirit, it is evident that when those impressions are 
withheld or withdrawn, and at all times, except 
during the actual utterance of ministry, their assem- 
blies must continue in a state of silence. When 
they meet together for the solemn purpose of wor- 
shipping their common Lord and Father, they dare 
not rush into his sacred presence with offerings of 
confession, prayer, and praise, prepared beforehand 
or extemporaneously invented. They sit down, 
therefore, in reverent stillness before him; and, 
whenever it happens that no one present possesses 
a gift in the ministry, or that the individuals who 
possess such a gift are not called into the exercise 
of it, the consequence (if the principles of the So- 
ciety are properly maintained) is necessarily this — 
that the silence with which the meeting commences, 
continues uninterrupted until the time arrives for 
its separation. 

During the earlier periods of the Society's histo- 
ry, the number of its ministers was very large; and 
I cannot but think it probable, that in the present 
day, were our religious body in a more lively, 
healthy, and vigorous condition, the gift of the Holy 



236 ON SILENT WORSHIP. 

Spirit would be more abundantly poured forth upon 
us, and would be exercised more generally in our 
assemblies for worship, to the edification of the peo- 
ple, and to the glory of the Great Giver. But, al- 
though this allowance may, I believe, be safely 
made, it is certain that those who have imbibed the 
religious principles of Friends, will ever place a 
high value on the opportunities so often afforded 
them in that society, for the public yet silent wor- 
ship of God. While much of silence in our reli- 
gious meetings is the necessary consequence of our 
sentiments respecting the ministry of the gospel, it 
is a consequence which we are far indeed from re- 
garding as a hardship or disadvantage. On the 
contrary, such silent worship is in complete harmo- 
ny with the whole tenor of our principles ; and we 
believe that, to those who rightly avail themselves 
of it, it seldom fails to become the means of very 
great usefulness. 

Our profession and our desire, when we meet to- 
gether to worship the Father, is to perform this sa- 
cred duty in spirit and in truth. To this end we 
conceive that a condition of outward silence is pre- 
eminently adapted. For worship in spirit and in 
truth consists neither in the practice of typical or- 
dinances, nor in the forced or formal use of words, 
which may or may not be accordant with the feel- 
ings of those who utter them, or in whose behalf 
they are spoken ; but in the communion of the soul 
with God, in inward prostration before him, and in 
those heart-felt offerings of supplication and thanks- 
giving which, in order to enter into the ears of the 



ON SILENT WORSHIP. 237 

Lord of Sabaoth, need not the intervention of any 
vocal utterance. 

In order to unfold this interesting subject with 
some degree of clearness, it will be desirable to ad- 
vert to a few of its principal particulars. 

I. Were the enquiry addressed to me, what is the 
first aftd most essential qualification for a right and 
spiritual worship of the Almighty — for such a wor- 
ship as would at once edify the creature and glorify 
the Creator ? I should feel but little hesitation in 
replying — A deep humiliation and subjection of soul 
before the divine Majesty. True worship may often 
be properly expressed by the services of the lip ; 
but it is, in itself, the homage which the soul offers 
to its Maker ; — it is the reverential communion of 
man with his God. Now this homage can never 
be acceptably offered — this communion can never 
take place in a right or perfect manner — until the 
mind of the worshipper is made in some degree 
sensible of the real relative situation of the two par- 
ties concerned — of himself and his God. The wor- 
shipper is the creature ; the object of his worship 
is the Creator : the former is finite, ignorant, weak, 
and helpless ; the latter is omniscient, eternal, and 
omnipotent: the former, without grace, is fallen, 
sinful, and corrupt; the latter is of "purer eyes than 
to behold iniquity :" the former is capable of re- 
ceiving either wrath or mercy ; the latter is able 
either to punish or to forgive. " Surely men of low 
degree are vanity, and men of high degree are a lie; 
to be laid in the balance, they are altogether lighter 
than vanity ;" Ps. lxii. 9. " All nations before him 



23 U ON SILENT WORSHIP. 

are as nothing ; and they are counted to him less 
than nothing, and vanity;" Isa. xl. 17. In order, 
therefore, to make acceptable approaches in Spirit 
to the Almighty, it is abundantly evident that men 
ought to be humbled, prostrate, and in a men- 
tal condition of profound reverence and awe; under 
a sense of their own vileness and of his perfections 
— of their own unworthiness and of his power — 
of their own nothingness and of his infinity. Nor 
will such a state of true humiliation fail to procure 
for them the gracious regards of their heavenly 
Father. " The heaven is my throne, and the earth 
is my footstool : where is the house that ye build 
unto me, and where is the place of my rest ? For all 
these things hath mine hand made, and all these 
things have been, saith the Lord : but to this man 
will I look, even to him that is poor, and of a contrite 
spirit, and trembleth at my word;" Isa. lxvi. 1, 2. 

The frame of mind which I have now attempted 
to describe is indeed, in some measure, at all times, 
inherent in the true christian : but on occasions ap- 
pointed for the high and especial purpose of com- 
munion with the Almighty, such a frame is in a pre- 
eminent degree necessary ; and is required to be 
formed in a much more perfect and uninterrupted 
manner, than during the active pursuits and mixed 
avocations of common life. Now, in order to this 
end — in order to the production of this entire hu- 
miliation, in those who are met together for divine 
worship — there is perhaps no outward condition 
nearly so well adapted as one of silence. The soul 
of man, however it may frequently be fraught with 



ON SILENT WORSHIP. 



239 



honest and pious intentions, is laden with man} 7 in- 
firmities; and, on these solemn occasions, it ap- 
pears to require the opportunity which silence so 
naturally affords, before it can find its own true 
level ; before it can be brought to entertain, with a 
sufficient degree of completeness, a just sense of it- 
self and of its Creator. There is reason to fear 
that such a sense is often very imperfectly formed, 
and that it is sometimes materially interrupted, 
by the use of words which form prescribes, or 
which human imagination invents. Even sincerely 
religious people mav draw nigh unto God with 
their lips, while their souls are far from being suf- 
ficiently humbled before him ; and if it be so, they 
worship their Creator superficially, and their reli- 
gious exercises will ever be found unprofitable, in 
proportion as they are shallow. It is when the soul 
of the christian is thoroughly subjected in the pre- 
sence of the Most High; when his pride and acti- 
vity are subdued ; when the restless imaginations 
of his natural mind are quieted and laid low, that 
he is prepared to adopt the words of the Psalmist 
" Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O 
Lord;" Psalm cxxx. 1. 

Now, silence may be considered not only as af- 
fording a most useful opportunity for the produc- 
tion of this complete prostration before God in di- 
vine worship, but as being eminently suited to that 
condition of mind when it is already produced ; for 
experience may serve to convince us, that it is the 
natural and frequent accompaniment of humiliation 
and subjection. As such it is repeatedly described 



240 ON SILENT WORSHIP. 

by the ancient Hebrew prophets. " I was dumb 
with silence, I held my peace even from good," said 
David, when he had been suffering under the chas- 
tisement of the Lord — «/ was dumb, I opened not 
my mouth, because thou didst it ;" Ps. xxxix. 2, 9. 
" Why do we sit still ?" cried the mournful Jere- 
miah — " assemble youselves, and let us enter into 
the defenced cities, and let us be silent there ; for 
the Lord our God hath put us to silence, and given 
us water of gall to drink, because we have sinned 
against the Lord;" ch. viii. 14. So also the pro- 
phets Habakkuk and Zechariah, when engaged in 
proclaiming the presence of Jehovah among men, 
did not fail to enjoin the silence of his creatures. — 
" But the Lord is in his holy temple ; let all the 
earth keep silence before him;" Hab. ii. 20. " Be 
silent, O, all flesh, before the Lord, for he is rais- 
ed up out of his holy habitation;" Zech. ii. 13. 
comp. Ps. xxxi. 18, Isa. xv. 1, I. Pet. ii. 15, Rev. 
viii. 1. 

II. A second particular, indispensably requisite 
for a true and spiritual worship, is waiting upon 
God. The worshippers of the Almighty Jehovah 
must not only be humbled and cast down under an 
awful apprehension of his divine power and majes^ 
ty ; they must not only feel their own vileness and 
wants ; but they must also look upwards unto God, 
as unto the Father of mercies, the Fountain of wis- 
dom and life, the Author of every good and perfect 
gift. Their expectation must be placed on him alone ; 
and they must learn patiently to wait upon him, un- 
til he shall be pleased to reveal his mercy, and to 



ON SILENT WORSHIP. 241 

bestow upon his unworthy children " grace to help 
in time of need." On the subject of this important 
characteristic of true worship, none of the sacred 
writers appear to have received a more powerful 
impression, than the devout and afflicted David. — 
" Unto thee lift I up mine eyes, O thou that dwell- 
est in the heavens. Behold, as the eves of the ser- 
vants (look) unto the hand of their masters, and as 
the eyes of a maiden unto the hands of her mis- 
tress ; so our eyes (wait) upon the Lord our God, 
until that he have mercy upon us;" Ps. cxxiii. 1, 2. 
" My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expec- 
tation is from him;" Ps. lxii. 5. " Wait on the Lord: 
be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine 
heart: ivait, I say, on the Lord; Ps. xxvii. 14. comp. 
xxxvii. 7, 9, cxxx. 5, Isa. xxx. 18, &c. 

When a person is anxiously expecting any parti- 
cular benefit from his fellow-creatures, it is very 
natural for him to be silent; for anxious expectation 
and silence, even in the common affairs of life, are 
closely associated. Still more plainly, however, 
does this appear to be the case, when the blessings 
and benefits which he desires are of a heavenly na- 
ture, and when the great and glorious God is the 
Being on whom his expectation and reliance are 
placed. A holy silence of soul, accompanied by an 
outward stillness, appears to be a frame of the man 
peculiarly well adapted to this waiting upon the 
Lord : and such a frame will, I believe, often be 
found a very salutary introduction to the more ac- 
tive communion of the soul with its Creator — to the 

2 H 



242 OV SILENT WORSHIP. 

actual offerings, whether secret or vocal, both of 
confession and prayer. 

Were such offerings, as they are presented on 
the altar of the Most High by christian worship- 
pers, less the product of their own efforts ; were 
they dictated more completely by the Spirit who 
" maketh intercession" for us " with groanings that 
cannot be uttered;" and did they more generally 
arise out of that condition which has now been de- 
scribed, of reverent waiting on the Lord : there is 
much reason to conclude that they would be still 
more acceptable than they now are to the Great 
Searcher of hearts ; and efficacious, in a higher de- 
gree, for the edification of those who worship him. 
And now it only remains for me to confirm these 
remarks by the additional observation, that waiting 
upon God, as well as prostration and subjection be- 
fore his Divine Majesty, is, in the Holy Scriptures, 
expressly recognised as connected with a state of 
silence. The words of the Psalmist, " Rest in the 
Lord, and wait patiently for him," may be more lite- 
rally and properly rendered, as in the margin of 
the common English version, "Be silent to the Lord,* 
and wait patiently for him ; Ps. xxxvii. 7. In Isaiah 
xl. 31, it is declared that "they who wait upon the 
Lord shall renew their strength;" and in the follow- 
ing verse the command is proclaimed "Keep silence 
before me, O islands; and let the people renew their 
strength; Isa. xli. 1. Lastly, in a highly instructive 
passage of the book of Lamentations, the benefit of 
true waiting upon God, and of the silence with 

* Heb. mm 1 ? ow 



ON SILENT WORSHIP. 243 

which it is so naturally accompanied, are described 
as follows: "The Lord is good unto them that wait 
for kim, to the soul that seeketh him. It is good 
that a man should both hope and quietly wait for 
(in the Hebrew, be silent for*) the salvation of the 
Lord. It is good for a man that he bear the yoke 
in his youth. He sitteth alone and keepeth silence, 
because he hath borne it upon him. He piltteth 
his mouth in the dust, if so be, there may be hoptU" 
Lam. iii. 25 — 28. It appears, therefore, both froni 
Scripture and from experience, first, that a condi- 
tion of mental waiting upon God, is a very impor- 
tant constituent of spiritual worship ; and, secondly, 
that silence is a natural and perfectly adapted ac- 
companiment of such a condition. 

III. Among the choicest blessings in the expec- 
tation of which the true worshipper is taught to 
w r ait upon his Lord, and for which he is most accus- 
tomed to present his humble } r et earnest petitions 
at the throne of grace, is the illumination and in- 
struction of the Holy Spirit. It is the happiness of 
all true christians that they are taught of the Lord. 
" All thy children," said the prophet to the church, 
" shall be taught of the Lord, and great shall be the 
peace of thy children;" Isa. liv. 13. The law of 
God is written in legible characters on the hearts 
of his followers. Under that new and spiritual dis- 
pensation into which they have been introduced, 
they need not that one man should say to another 
" Know r the Lord," because from the least to the 
greatest of them, all may know him for themselves; 



244 ON SILENT WORSHIP. 

Jer. xxxi. 34 : they need not that any man teach 
them, because the anointing which they have re- 
ceived of Ch rist abideth in them, and teacheth them 
of all thing?*, and is truth and no lie ; I. John ii. 27. 
One is the^ir teacher — even Christ. 

The obedient family of God, as I have already 
found occasion to observe, are in all their ways, in- 
structed and illuminated by their Divine Master. — 
Esen while they are prosecuting the active busi- 
ness of life, if they be but careful in maintaining the 
watchful spirit and the single eye, they will not fail 
to receive, on every needful occasion, the secret, 
yet perceptible monitions of the Spirit of Truth. — 
But in an especial manner may they expect to ex- 
perience this grace, when they are gathered to- 
gether, in the name of Jesus, for the solemn purpose 
of worshipping the living God. In pious expecta- 
tion they fix their souls upon their Redeemer; and 
that "Minister of the true tabernacle," who has 
promised to be in the midst of his disciples, when 
they are thus engaged, is ever ready to carry for- 
ward his work in their souls, to perform his own 
part in the covenant of life, and to bestow upon 
them the teaching of his Holy Spirit — a teaching, 
which, when received with submission, never fails 
to be efficacious, because it is derived without mix- 
ture from the source of wisdom, and is not only 
light but poiver. Many are they of various chris- 
tian denominations, who can bear witness that the 
Lord Jesus does indeed condescend to instruct his 
people himself. It is Christ that spiritual Teacher 
of the children of God, who makes manifest to them 



ON SILENT WORSHIP. 245 

their real condition; detects their iniquities, and 
convinces them of sin; brings them into humility, 
tenderness and contrition of soul; and thus prepares 
them for the exercise of fervent and persevering 
prayer, for pardon, and deliverance. It is Christ, 
also, who reveals to the soul of man the mercy of 
God, and secretly proclaims to his penitent follow- 
ers the extent and efficacy of redeeming love.— 
Thus is the contrite sinner relieved and comforted, 
and becomes rightly qualified to offer up at the 
throne of grace the acceptable tribute of thanksgiv- 
ing and praise. Lastly, it is Christ who plainly sets 
before his people, as in the light of his sanctuary, 
the path of self-denial, obedience, and true holiness: 
he shews to them the beauty and excellence of that 
narrow way, and inspires them with an ardent de- 
sire to walk in it ; and, at the same time, he invites 
them to rely with confidence upon the power of his 
grace, that by this sacred influence they may be 
strengthened in all their weakness, and actually en- 
abled to take up their daily cross and to follow 
their Lord and Saviour. Such is a faint and gene- 
ral outline of the teaching of the Son of God ; and 
where is the experienced christian who will ven- 
ture to deny that he thus instructs his people, not 
only by means of the ministry of his servants, but 
by the secret and immediate operations of his Holy 
Spirit ? 

If this point be allowed, and if it be further grant- 
ed, as I think it must be by the spiritually-minded 
reader, that the periods appointed for the congre- 
gational worship of God are times when the imme- 



246 ON SILENT WORSHIP. 

diate teaching of Christ may reasonably be expect- 
ed ; the propriety of silence on such occasions is at 
once established. When any persons are receiving 
the instructions of a human teacher, they find that 
a state of silence on their own parts is both benefi- 
cial and indispensable. Not only is such a state 
the proper and natural token of submission to their 
instructer, and of their willingness to receive his 
lessons ; but it is literally impossible for them to 
listen to his words, or to derive any benefit from 
those lessons unless they keep silence. Every one 
who is accustomed to public worship, must know 
with what peculiar force these observations apply 
to the experience of christians, in reference to the 
ministry of the gospel. The preacher proclaims 
the word of truth; he declares the messages of 
God to the people; and he instructs them in a 
knowledge of the divine law. But all his efforts 
will be mere vanity, unless he receive from his 
hearers that respectful and submissive attention, to 
which their entire silence is absolutely and undeni- 
ably essential. And so it is also during those times 
in the hours appointed for worship, (and that there 
are such times we are well aware from our own ex- 
perience) when the " Master of assemblies" calls 
forth no human instrument for the performance of 
his work ; when he is pleased to take the office of 
teacher into his own hands ; and when he conde- 
scends to visit his unworthy children with the im- 
mediate illuminations of his Holy Spirit. They 
cannot avail themselves of this divine teaching; 
they cannot hear it — they cannot profit by it — unless 



ON SILENT WORSHIP. 247 

they are silent— unless they maintain that stillness of 
soul, which is naturally, and, under such circum- 
stances, necessarily, accompanied with an outward 
silence. " Be still and know that I am God," is the 
command, which, in his character of universal Sove- 
reign, Jehovah still addresses to his reasonable crea- 
tures: nor can there be any occasions on which an 
obedience to this command is more seasonable, or 
more plainly desirable, than those which are appoint- 
ed for public and congregational worship. While this 
true silence is preserved by christian worshippers, 
they will often be permitted to hear the gentle and al- 
luring accents of Israel's Shepherd, their Guide, In- 
structed and Comforter; and in listening to those 
accents with reverent submission, they will, in an 
eminent degree, experience that renewal of strength 
without which they can make no advances in the 
" way everlasting." 

On recurring to the leading particulars of the 
present chapter, the reader will observe, that much 
of silence in the time appointed for public worship 
is the necessary consequence of our principle — that 
no verbal administrations, except those which arise 
directly out of divine impulse, are on such occa- 
sions to be admitted — that so far from deprecating 
such a consequence, we consider that the mainten- 
ance of silence in our religious assemblies emi- 
nently accords with that divine law, that God, who 
is a Spirit, must be worshipped spiritually — that in 
this sentiment we are confirmed by a consideration 
of some of the principal constituents of true and 
spiritual worship, viz: humiliation before the divine 



248 ON SILENT WORSHIP. 

Majesty, waiting upon God, and submissive atten- 
tion to the immediate teaching of the Lord Jesus — 
that to these several duties the silent subjection of 
the soul is peculiarly suited, and even absolutely 
indispensable — and that this frame of mind is, in our 
judgment, most easily obtained and most effectu- 
ally preserved through the medium of an outward 
silence. 

Such are the reasons for the value which Friends 
are accustomed to attach to silence in worship; and 
which will, I trust, be found more and more to re- 
commend so salutary a practice to christians of 
every name and profession. In conclusion, how- 
ever, it ought to be remarked, that although silence 
is a natural attendant of this inward state of pros- 
tration, waiting, and attention to the divine teach- 
ing, the former may often be maintained when the 
latter has no existence. It is easy for any man to 
be outwardly silent, while he allows his mind to be 
occupied with a thousand passing reflections which 
have no proper connexion with his religious duty ; 
and when this is unhappily the case with persons 
who are met together for the professed purpose 
of rendering a public homage to the Almighty, it 
must be confessed, that their worship is as inef- 
ficacious and nearly as much of a mockery, as 
it would be, did it consist in the use of words at 
total variance with the feelings of the heart. 
How clearly then is it the duty of Friends, of eve- 
ry age and station, to maintain a true watchful- 
ness and diligence of soul, that their silent worship 
may not be marred by the influence of worldly 



ON SILENT WORSHIP. 



249 



thoughts, and thus degenerate into a barren and 
lifeless form! It may indeed be freely allowed, 
that a condition of true internal silence, is one of no 
easy attainment. Great is our infirmity in this re- 
spect, and difficult do we sometimes find it to stay the 
rapid course of our own cogitations, and to present 
ourselves in real quietness, a living sacrifice to our 
God. But we do not expect to accomplish this ob- 
ject in our own strength. In our endeavours to 
worship God in spirit and in tn.th, we are taught 
to rely on him alone; and while such continues to 
be our reliance, experience will still enable us to 
testify, that he is often pleased tti arise for our help 
— that he has the will as well as the power to bring 
our vain thoughts into silence-/to raise our souls 
into holy communion with him/elf — and to say to 
the multitudinous imaginations pf the natural man? 
Peace, be still 



2i 



CHAPTER X, 



ON OATHS. 



In the preceding chapters I have endeavoured 
to give a clear account of those religious peculiari- 
ties of the Society of Friends, which appertain par- 
ticularly to the subject of worship, and which there- 
fore involve dutbs (whether positive or negative) 
especially affecting our relation with the supreme 
Being himself. The points still remaining for dis- 
cussion, have reference to our conduct in common 
life, and more especially towards our fellow-crea- 
tures : for there are several matters of this descrip- 
tion also, respecting which Friends entertain senti- 
ments, ?ind adopt practices, different from those of 
the bu/k of their fellow-christians. Of these prac- 
tical peculiarities, the first which presents itself for 
our /consideration is the disuse of oaths. Profane 
an/ irreverent appeals to the Almighty, and those 

nversational blasphemies which, even in christian 
Countries, continue to disgrace the various classes 
of worldly society, are indeed unanimously con- 
demned by all true christians : but Friends (in ac- 
cordance, as I understand, with the Moravians) ad- 
vance a step further, and consider it their bounden 
duty to avoid swearing of every description, and on 
every occasion. Such a line of conduct they deem 
to be both justified and required, first, by certain 
plain moral principles, and, secondly, by divine com- 



ON OATHS. 251 

mands of the most impressive and comprehensive 
character. On both these heads I may venture to 
offer a few observations. 

Of the moral principles alluded to, the first may 
be considered as lying at the foundation of the apos- 
tolic precept, " Let your yea be yea, and your nay, 
nay, lest ye fall into condemnation" Jas. v. 12; and 
as deriving a clear confirmation from the declara- 
tion of Jesus himself, that " whatsoever is more than 
these, cometh of evil ; or as the Greek may be 
more accurately rendered, ' of the evil one;* Matt. v. 
37. Since the law of truth, in the verbal commu- 
nication between man and man, — a law strenuously 
supported even by heathen moralists, and obviously 
essential to the well-being of all human societies — 
is very frequently enjoined in the records of God's 
revealed will; since it is plainly of universal obli- 
gation on the followers of Jesus ; and since, on the 
other hand, there is nothing more decisively con- 
demned in the sacred volume than the false tongue : 
it follows that with true christians, a deliberate and 
serious yet simple affirmation or negation possesses 
a force so perfect in its kind, as to be incapable of 
any real augmentation. Hence there arises a plain 
moral obligation, in conformity with the precept of 
the apostle James, that our yea should be yea, and 
and our nay, nay — that is to say, that our affirma- 
tions and negations should be naked and simple, 
and wholly unaccompanied with any form of oath. 
For if, on any particular occasion, a man swear in 
addition to his yea or nay, in order to render them 



252 ON OATHS. 

more obligatory and convincing, their force beeomes 
comparatively weak at other times, when they re- 
ceive no such confirmation. If such a one is a be- 
liever in the Lord Jesus, and especially if he is 
a serious professor of religion, it is plain that by 
his conduct he gives countenance to the false and 
dangerous notion, that the oath of the christian is 
more binding on his conscience, and therefore more 
credible, than his deliberate word, and thus he in- 
evitably lowers the standard of the law of truth. 

Nor is the deduction of this consequence the 
work of mere theory. Experience bears ample tes- 
timony to the fact that the prevalence of oaths 
among men (christians not excepted) has produced 
a very material and very general effect in reducing 
their estimate of the obligation of plain truth, in its 
natural and simple forms. Even the heathen phi- 
losophers of old were well aware of the deleterious 
results of the practice of swearing, and some of 
them have left on record an express condemnation 
of that practice.* Truly, then, may it be asserted, 
that those awful appeals to a superior agency, by 
which, in every oath, the truth is supposed to be 
confirmed, (whatever may be the occasion on 

* Epictetus says, 7ragAir»a-a,t oytov uc uTrxv — "Avoid swearing altogether:" 
Plato, ogx.oe my TravToc ctmcui — "Let an oath be avoided on every occasion:" 
Chaerilus, opuov t out uSikov xptw i/u/uivoti own Smam — " No oath, whether it 
be a just or an unjust one, ought to be allowed:" Menander, opx.ov.S-i qwyi 
km $tx.-xm ofxnm — "Abstain from swearing, even though it be justly""." See 
Grotius on Matt. v. 34. Stobams, Serm. 3, relates that Solon said, A good 
man ought to be in that estimation that he need not an oath,- because it is to be 
reputed a lessening of his honour, if he be forced to swear. Pythagoras, in 
his oration, among other things hath this maxim, as that which concerns 
the administration of the commonwealth. Let no man call God to witness 
by an oath, no not in judgment; but let every man so accustom himself to speak 
thai he may become worthy to be trusted even without an oath ,•" Barclay's 
Jpology, prop. xv. § 12. 



ON OATHS. 2 J. 3 

which such oath is employed,) arise out of an evil 
source, — produce an evil consequence, — and are at 
variance with the principles of that perfect law, to 
which christians, above all others, so plainly owe an 
exact and universal obedience. 

The true christian cannot, indeed, be ignorant 
that he is in the presence of an omniscient God, 
who is perfectly aware both of his secret thoughts 
and of his open declarations. Nevertheless, the 
principle to which I have now adverted, appears to 
afford a substantial reason why he should abstain 
from attempting to add to the force of his yea or his 
nay, by making such an awful appeal to the Deity 
as constitutes an oath. But further : there appears 
to be a distinct moral objection to oaths, on the 
ground that, according to general usage, both an- 
cient and modern, they plainly imply an impreca- 
tion— a conditional calling down upononeself of some 
dreaded penalty. A man swears either by some- 
thing which is dear and valuable to him, or by some 
personal object of his reverence and dread. In the 
former case, the penalty which he means to attach 
to himself, on the supposition that his oath is un- 
true, is the loss of that which he loves ; and in the 
latter case, it is the wrath and vengeance of him 
whom he fears. When the ancient Grecian, for in- 
stance, swore by his head, he professed to subject 
himself to the loss of his head ; and when he swore 
by Jupiter, he cursed himself with the wrath of Ju- 
piter, provided his oath should be false or broken. 
Now it is a very affecting consideration that the 
oaths in use among the professors of Christianity 



254 ON OATHS. 

are unspeakably more terrible than any heathen 
oath ; inasmuch as the penalty which the swearer 
calls down upon himself, on the supposition of his 
swearing falsely, is one of infinite weight and se- 
verity. It is nothing short of damnation — the de- 
struction and eternal punishment of his immortal 
soul. 

That such is the import of the common juridical 
oath of this country, is notorious. An individual 
who is called upon to give evidence in an English 
court of justice, swears that he will tell the truth, 
the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, and he 
adds, "So help me God;" or, as the words were 
formerly recited, " So help me God lit his holy 
dome ;" that is to say, Let this be the condition, on 
which God shall help me in the day of judgment ; 
See Rees^ Cyclopaedia, " oath" The help of God 
thus technically adverted to — the help of God in 
the day of his holy dome — plainly signifies that help 
by which alone the soul of man can be saved from 
eternal misery, and introduced to a state of never- 
ending happiness. Thus, then, the English swearer, 
in his appeal to an all-seeing, omnipotent Deity, 
voluntarily and expressly appends his own salvation 
to the condition of his speaking the truth, the whole 
truth, and nothing but the truth. On the supposi- 
tion of his infringing that condition, he curses him- 
self with the loss of God's help, and with consequent 
damnation. 

Even were it absolutely certain that the alterna- 
tive, on account of which a man calls down upon 
himself this everlasting ruin and destruction, could 



ON OATHS. 255 

by no possibility occur, the reflecting christian who 
dwells under a just sense of the judgments of the 
Lord and of the unutterable importance of eternity, 
will scarcely fail to acknowledge, that such a curs- 
ing of self is in a high degree rash and irreverent. 
But how much more evidently presumptuous, how 
much more awfully dangerous, is such an impreca- 
tion, when it is connected with an alternative, the 
negative of which must always, in the very nature 
of things, be deemed, in a great degree, uncertain ! 
The senses of men frequently deceive them; their 
memory easily fails them ; when they are surround- 
ed with appalling circumstances, or perplexed with 
difficult questions, their presence of mind is very 
commonly disturbed or destroyed ; and, above all, 
their own hearts are corrupt and deceitful : so that 
perhaps a person who is about to give evidence in 
a court of justice, can never be absolutely assured 
that he shall speak the truth, the whole truth, and 
nothing but the truth: and yet, in appealing to the 
omnipresent Jehovah, he presumes to stake upon 
this frail and fallible condition, the salvation of his 
immortal soul ! 

Those who are acquainted with the history of the 
Society of Friends, must be aware how uniformity 
they have objected to the use of oaths ; how r fully- 
persuaded they have at all times been, that they 
could in no case comply with the prevalent custom 
of swearing, without grieving and offending their 
heavenly Guide and Governor ; and how multifarious 
were the sufferings which the early members of that 
society preferred to the infringement of their duty 



256 ON OATH3. 

in this important practical particular. Nor will the 
reader be surprised by the decision and steadiness 
of their views and conduct in this respect, when he 
has candidly reflected on the moral principles which 
have now been stated; when he has considered their 
clearness on the one hand, and their weight and im- 
portance on the other. It is not, however, solely 
on account of these moral principles, that Friends 
regard it as their indispensable duty to abstain from 
all swearing; but more especially because of the 
express commands of Jesus Christ himself, and of 
one of his apostles. " Ye have heard that it hath 
been said by them of old time," said the Lord Jesus, 
in his sermon on the mount, " Thou shalt not for- 
swear thyself; but shalt perform unto the Lord 
thine oaths: but I say unto you, Swear not at all; 
neither by heaven, for it is God's throne ; nor by the 
earth, for it is his footstool ; neither by Jerusalem, 
for it is the city of the Great King. Neither shalt 
thou swear by thine head, because thou canst not 
make one hair white or black : but let your commu- 
nication be yea, yea, nay, nay ; for whatsoever is 
more than these cometh of evil ;" Matt. v. 33 — 37. 
The apostle James has also adverted to the subject 
in forcible and explicit terms : — " But above all 
things, my brethren, swear not ; neither by heaven ; 
neither by the earth ; neither by any other oath ; 
but let your yea be yea, and your nay, nay ; lest ye 
fall into condemnation;" ch. v. 12. 

It might have been supposed that such plain in- 
junctions, would have convinced the generality of 
persons who derive their moral standard from the 
New Testament, that oaths, on any occasion, and 



ON OATHS. 257 

under any pretext, are absolutely unlawful for the 
followers of Jesus. But the very prevalent notion 
that they are necessary to some important purposes 
of civil society, has evidently been the means of 
preventing this result. Many persons have accord- 
ingly acceded to the glosses by which commentators 
endeavour to escape from the force of these pass- 
ages 5 and that with a far greater readiness and fa- 
cility than those glosses deserve* The objections 
which many of the learned, and especially the late 
William Paley, have made to the more comprehen- 
sive interpretation of these prohibitory declarations, 
centre principally in a single point; namely, that 
the oaths here specified both by our Saviour and 
his apostle, are oaths, not by Jehovah, but only by 
his creatures. Since the latter oaths alone are spe- 
cified, these writers conclude that they alone, or 
they principally, are forbidden; and since it appears 
that, in their courts of justice, the Jews swore not 
by heaven, the earth, Jerusalem, or their own heads, 
but only by God himself, and that they used these 
inferior oaths on more familiar occasions ; it is ar- 
gued that the injunctions of Christ and his apostle 
were not directed against judicial sw r earing, but ex- 
clusively against that which was common and con- 
versational. Now as the inference thus deduced 
depends entirely upon the supposition that the 
swearing forbidden by our Lord and his apostle 
was only or chiefly swearing by the creatures, and 
not the oath by Jehovah, it follows that if that sup- 
position be disproved, the inference itself must fall 
to the ground. I hope then to make it plain to the 

2 k 



258 ON OATHS. 

reader's apprehension, that in these passages, every 
kind of swearing is forbidden, and especially swear- 
ing by Jehovah. 

In the first place, the terms in which our Lord 
expresses his new law are of the most decisive and 
comprehensive nature. "But I say unto you, Swear 
not at all"* The apostle, whose words may be re- 
garded as a sort of commentary on those of Christ, 
maintains, and even increases, the force and extent 
of these terms: he says "Above all things, my 
brethren, swear not :" and after specifying the oath 
by heaven and that by the earth, he completes the 
significancy of his sentence by the subsequent 
clause, "neither by any other oath." The nega- 
tive injunction is, moreover, in both instances, elu- 
cidated and confirmed, by another of a positive cha- 
racter. " Let your yea, be yea, and your nay, nay," 
says the apostle — that is, let them be naked, simple, 
plain, absolutely destitute of any oath. " Let your 
communication (or " your speech"f ) be yea, yea, 
nay, nay," says our Saviour, " for whatsoever is more 
than these" — whether it be the lesser or the greater 
oath, the oath by the creature, or the oath by the 
Creator — " whatsoever is more than these cometh of 
evil." Here our Lord has justified and explained 
his law, by a declaration.. Now that declaration 
extends to every description of swearing; it applies 
to the higher kinds of it with still greater force than 
to the lower : and it must needs be understood as 
universal, because, whatever exception may here 
be imagined by christians, none is expressed — none, 

* un Marat faces. f H") oj. 



ON OATHS. 259 

even in the most distant manner, hinted at or allud- 
ed to — by Christ himself. 

It is to be observed, in the second place, that 
oaths of a secondary kind are forbidden by our Lord 
on the express principle, that they were nearly as- 
similated to more solemn oaths, and that some of 
these forms did in fact involve a real swearing by 
Jehovah: "Neither by heaven,/or it is God's throne: 
neither by the earth, for it is his footstool : neither 
by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King" — 
the Lord of Hosts. Those, therefore, who swore 
by the heaven, by the earth, or by Jerusalem, virtu- 
ally swore by that divine Being who dwells in them 
and uses them as his own ; according to the clear 
doctrine of the Lord Jesus, on another occasion — 
" Y T hoso shall swear by the temple, sweareth by it, 
anu by him that dwelleth therein ; and he that shall 
swear by heaven, sweareth by the throne of God, 
and by him that sitteth thereon:" Matt, xxiii. 21, 
22. If then swearing by the creature was to be 
avoided, simply because of its virtual connexion 
with swearing by the Creator, how much more 
plainly exceptionable was the direct and awful oath 
by Jehovah himself! I would suggest that our 
Lord's meaning may be paraphrastically expressed 
as follows : — " But I say unto you, Swear not at all— 
on no occasion and by no description of oaths — not 
even by those of a secondary form, which you are 
accustomed to use familiarly, and to regard as harm- 
less and unmeaning. Such oaths are, in point of 
fact, fraught with solemnity, and are of the very 
same nature as swearing by the living God. Keep 



260 ON OATHS. 

strictly, therefore, in all your speech, to the yea and 
nay ; for whatsoever method of swearing may be 
employed to augment their force, it cometh of the 
evil one. ? ' # 

Lastty, the true import of the precept of Christ 
respecting swearing is to be gathered from that of 
the Jewish law, to which that precept is placed in 
opposition. It has already been observed that the 
worship prescribed to the ancient Hebrews, was in 
general of a much lower and less spiritual character, 
than that which is enjoined upon the disciples of 
Jesus ; and in complete coincidence with such a fact, 
it appears with equal clearness, that the moral law — 
the law of practice — was less fully revealed and less 
properly understood under the Mosaic, than it is 
under the christian dispensation. In condescension 
to a state of comparative ignorance and weakness, 
many things were permitted, and even temporarily 
enjoined, which the full light of christian truth has 
evinced to be now unlawful. Every reader of the 
New Testament is acquainted with the comparison 
instituted by our Lord, in his Sermon on the Mount, 
between the system of morals, which the Jews had 
grounded on the law of Moses, and his own purer 
and more perfect law. The law of Moses forbade 
murder : the law of Christ extends the prohibition 
to injuries and insults of every description, and en- 

* " Graviter falluntur," says Grotius on this passage, "qui solam a 
Christo improbari putant. consuetudinem jurandi per res alias extra Deum. 
Nam Jacobus optimus Christi interpres ait, Nonjurandum, nequeper caelum, 
neque per terrain, neque alia quavis jurandi formula. Iiho sehsus Christi 
est, Noil jurandum; nc quidcm (not even) per coelum, per terrain, per 
Uycroso'lyma, per caput; quod ostendit membrum oppOsitum, Sit aute/r, 
sermo vesta; est, est, nun, 7ion." The Greek particle ^wrs is capable ojf 
being- rendered 'not even' as well as 'nor;' comp. Mark iii. 20, 



ON OATHS. 261 

joins the subjugation of those angry and malicious 
feelings which are the source of overt wrongs. The 
law of Moses forbade adultery : the law of Christ 
proclaims the iniquity of those secret desires and 
intentions, in which alone such crime originates. 
The law of Moses allowed of divorce on trifling oc^ 
casions : the law of Christ repeals that provision, 
and holds up the highest standard respecting the 
security and completeness of the marriage union. 
The law of Moses sanctioned the principle of re-» 
taliation, Exod. xxi. 23 — 25, Num. xxxi. 17 — 21 ; 
the law of Christ enjoins the suffering of injury, and 
the return of good for evil. The principle of the 
law of Moses was love to friends, and hatred to 
enemies :-*-that of the law of Christ is love to all. 
So also the law of Moses, while it forbade both swear- 
ing falsely and swearing lightly,t allowed the use of 
oaths when required by the order of civil and re- 
ligious society, as it was then established : but the 
law of Christ goes farther : it cuts off all opportunity 
of perjury, and of every other abuse of the oath, by 
the complete prohibition of swearing. "Ye have 
heard that it hath been said by them of old time — 
Thou shalt not forswear thyself — but I say unto you 
swear not at all" The oaths which the ancient 
Israelites were thus enjoined not to infringe, were 
taken in the name of Jehovah, the living God, and 
were employed principally in their courts of judi- 
cature, and on other occasions of seriousness and 



f Both these meanings are considered by commentators, and especially 
by Jewish commentators, to be included in the injunction " Thou shalt not 
take the name of the Lord thy God in vain ," Exod. xx. 7. 



262 ON OATHS. 

importance. Such then are the oaths, as well as 
others of a less solemn form and character, from 
which christians are commanded, by their own law- 
giver, entirely to abstain. 

For all the reasons now stated, I cannot but con- 
sider it abundantly evident, that our Lord, in this 
passage of his memorable discourse, and also the 
apostle James, who has expressed himself in so 
similar a manner, have absolutely forbidden swearing 
of every description, and on every occasion. In this 
conclusion we are confirmed by the express judg- 
ment of the early fathers, both Greek and Latin, 
who have almost uniformly interpreted these pass- 
ages as completely destitute of any limitation. " I 
say nothing of perjury," sa}^s Tertullism, " since 
swearing itself is unlawful to christians ;" De Idol, 
cap. 11. ed. Semleri, torn. iv. 161. "The old law," 
says Basil, "is satisfied with the honest keeping of 
the oath : but Christ cuts off the opportunity of per- 
jury ;" In Ps. xiv. Horn. ed. Ben. torn. i. 356. " He 
who has precluded murder by taking away anger," 
observes Gregory of Nysse, " and who has driven 
away the pollution of adultery by subduing desire, 
has expelled from our life the curse of perjury by 
forbidding us to swear : for where there is no oath, 
there can be no infringement of it ;" In Cant. Cant 
Horn. 13, ed. Ben. torn. i. 657, 8. " Let the christian 
entirely avoid oaths, in obedience to our Lord's pro- 
hibition," exclaims Chrysostom; "do not therefore 
say to me, I swear for a just purpose. It is no lon- 
ger lawful for thee to swear either justly or unjustly. 
Let us preserve our mouths free from an oath ;" In 



ON OATHS. 263 

Gen. ii. Horn. xv. ed. Ben. torn. iv. p. 122. "It is 
our absolute duty," says Gregory Nazianzen, " strict- 
ly to attend to the commands of our king, and by all 
means to avoid an oath — especially such a one as 
is taken in the name of God ;" Orat. 53, ed. Colon. 
a. d. 1690, torn. i. 760. See also Justin, Apol. i. cap. 
16, ed, Ben. p. 53; Clement Alex. Peed. lib. 3, ed. 
Ben. p. 299. Strom, lib. v. p. 707 ; Origen, in Com. 
Matt, serie, tract. 23. ed. Ben. torn. iii. 842. Cyprian* 
Testim. lib. 3, § 12; Hilary, Episc. in Matt. v. 34, 
ed. Ben. p. 628 ; Theophylact, in Matt. v. 33 ; Am- 
brose, in Ps. 118, Expos. 14, ed. Ben. torn. i. p. 1145; 
Jerom, in Matt. v. 34; Isidorns Pelus. lib. i. ep. 155; 
Barclay^ Apol. prop. xv. § 12. 

Since Jesus Christ has thus forcibly, explicitly, 
and without limitation or exception, prohibited his 
followers from swearing, the corresponding duty on 
their parts, is evidently that of a total abstinence 
from the practice. By way of excuse, however, for 
not abstaining from it, christians may often be heard 
to remark, that Jesus himself took a judicial oath 
— that Paul swore in his epistles — and that oaths 
are expedient for the security and welfare of socie- 
ty. It is impossible for me to complete the present 
argument, without taking some notice of these seve- 
ral objections. 

When the Lord Jesus stood before the Jewish 
Sanhedrim, and the false witnesses had delivered 
their testimony respecting him, " the High Priest 
arose and said unto him, Answerest thou nothing? 
What is it which these witness against thee ? But 
Jesus held his peace. And the High Priest an- 



264 ON OATHS. 

swered and said unto him, / adjure thee by the liv- 
ing God, that thou tell us whether thou be the 
Christ, the Son of God. Jesus saith unto him, Thou 
hast said;" Matt. xxvi. 62 — 64. The reply made 
by our Saviour on this occasion is generally, and I 
believe rightly, interpreted as an affirmative : and 
since he was adjured by the High Priest, to declare 
whether he was or was not the Christ, the Son of 
God, it is readily concluded that Jesus was here put 
upon his oath, and took it. Were this the matter 
of fact, it would in my opinion, afford no sufficient 
reason why christians should swear in contraven- 
tion of the direct command of their Divine Master. 
It ought to be remembered that at the period when 
these circumstances happened, the Mosaic law was 
still in force, and obedience to that law was evident- 
ly one of the principles which regulated the life of 
Jesus. Nor can there be any just comparison be- 
tween the oath of one who was absolutely incapa- 
ble of either falsehood or error, with that of others 
who are perpetually liable to both. A little inves- 
tigation, however, may suffice to convince the rea- 
der that Jesus, in the passage cited above, is not 
described by the evangelist as taking his oath. 

When an ancient Jew was examined in a court 
of justice, he swore to the fact to which he might 
be deposing, in the following, or some equivalent 
terms : " Behold I swear by the name of the Lord 
God of Israel, that such or such is the truth :" or 
otherwise he was put upon his oath, or sworn by 
the judges, who said, " We make thee swear by the 
Lord God of Israel, that such or such is the truth :" 



ON OATHS. 265 

to which adjuration the deponent was accustomed 
to reply, "Amen;" See Buxtorf. Synag. p. 682. 
Now it does not appear that, in the present instance, 
the Lord Jesus either swore himself, or was sworn 
by his judges. He was not attending the court as 
a witness, neither was there any fact to which he 
was called upon to depose. He was accused of 
having assumed the divine character ; the evidence 
brought in proof of the point, w r as of a suspicious 
and unsatisfactory description, and it was evidently 
for the purpose of entrapping him into the repetition 
of his supposed crime, that the High Priest solemn- 
ly enjoined him to declare to the Sanhedrim wheth- 
er he was or was not the Son of God. With this 
solemn injunction Jesus complied : and no sooner 
had he uttered his answer, than " the High Priest 
rent his clothes, saying, He hath spoken blasphe- 
my ; what further need have we of witnesses ? Be- 
hold, now ye have heard his blasphemy;" verse 65. 
Schleusner, in his lexicon of the Greek Testament, 
expressly remarks that the verb rendered in this 
passage "I adjure"* does not here signify ki I make 
to swear, or put upon oath," but only " I solemnly, 
and in the name of God, exhort and enjoin." That 
this verb in its more simple formt is repeatedly 
employed in this latter signification, such of my 
readers as are accustomed to peruse the New Tes- 
tament in its original language will be well aware. 
Thus the evil spirit cried out to Jesus, " / adjure 
thee by the living God, that thou torment me not ;" 
Mark v. 7. Thus Paul wrote to the Thessalonians, 

2 L 



266 ON OATHS. 

"I charge (or adjure) you by the Lord, that this 
epistle be read unto all the holy brethren ;" I. Thes. 
v. 27. Thus also in Canticles ii. 7, v. 8, (passages 
in which we find the same verb in the Septuagint 
version, and a corresponding one in the Hebrew 
text,) the spouse exclaims, "/ charge (or adjure) 
you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, that ye stir not 
up my love till he please: I charge (or adjure) you, 
O ye daughters of Jerusalem, if ye find my beloved 
that ye tell him I am sick of love." The compari- 
son of these passages of Scripture with that now 
under consideration appears to afford ample evi- 
dence, that the Lord Jesus, when he complied with 
the solemn injunction of the High Priest, no more 
took an oath, than the Thessalonians did when they 
read Paul's epistle unto all the holy brethren — than 
the daughters of Jerusalem did, when they abstain- 
ed from waking the bridegroom, and when they de- 
livered to him the message of the bride — or than 
our Lord himself did, when he acceded to the earn- 
est entreaty of the evil spirit. 

It is objected, in the second place, that the apos- 
tle Paul, in some parts of his epistles, has made use 
of oaths. " God is my witness" says he to the Ro- 
mans, "that without ceasing, I make mention of you 
always in my prayers ;" Rom. i. 9. And again to 
the Thessalonians, he says, " Neither at any time 
used we flattering words — God is witness;" I. Thes. 
ii. v. It is almost needless to observe, that in 
these passages the apostle does not swear, but con- 
fines himself to the declaration of a truth which no 
man could dispute ; namely, that God was the wit- 



ON OATHS. 267 

ness of his secret exercises and of his plain address. 
Again, on another occasion, when describing to the 
Galatians the course which he pursued after his con- 
version, the apostle expresses himself in a somewhat 
similar manner. " Now the things which I write 
unto you, behold before God, I lie not;" Gal. i. 20. 
Here was a solemn affirmation made in the confess- 
ed presence of that Being who alone searches the 
heart; but no oath, no imprecation, no calling down 
upon himself of any dreaded penalty. Precisely 
the same remark will, I believe, be found to apply 
to another passage in which Paul appeals still more 
directly to the Deity. "Moreover," says he to 
the Corinthians, "I call God for a record (or a 
ivitness) upon my soul (or of my mind) that to 
spare you, I came not as yet, unto Corinth ;" II. 
Cor. i. 23. 

Although that appeal to an omniscient Deity, 
which in the former of these passages is implied, 
and in the latter plainly expressed, can by no means 
be considered as in itself constituting an oath, it 
may be freely allowed, on a principle stated in the 
first part of the present chapter, that such an addi^ 
tion to a deliberate yet simple yea or nay, in con- 
firmation of their truth, would be of dangerous ap- 
plication in the common affairs of life. But we are 
to remember that the apostle was an inspired man, 
and that in the promulgation of the gospel, as well 
as in the government of the churches, he was in a 
pre-eminent degree invested with the sanctions of 
a divine authority. That authority he was very 
frequently led to assert; Rom. i. 1, 1. Cor. i. 1, ii> 



268 ON OATHS. 

13, xiv. 37, Gal. i. 1, &c. When, therefore, we con- 
sider the peculiar circumstances under which he 
was thus placed, we may very reasonably interpret 
as instances of such assertion, the appeals here made 
to that Almighty Being by whose inspiration he 
was protected from error, and by whose direction 
his whole conduct as an apostle was so conspicu- 
ously regulated. 

Here, however, it ought to be acknowledged that 
the latter of these passages contains certain expres- 
sions which have been very usually interpreted in 
such a manner, as to give to the appeal there made 
to the Deity, the force of a complete oath. The 
expressions alluded to* are in our common English 
Version, rendered upon my soul. If we take the 
preposition here rendered " upon" in the sense of 
against (a sense in which it is sometimes used) and 
the substantive rendered " soul" as meaning either 
the natural life or the immortal spirit, we must 
conclude with many commentators, that Paul, when 
he declared to the Corinthians that to spare them 
he came not again unto Corinth, not only called 
upon God as the witness of that truth, but actually 
staked either his natural life or his soul on the ve- 
racity of his assertion, and thus involved himself in 
a real oath. 

Now on the supposition of the propriety of such 
an interpretation, it may be observed in the first 
place, that the apostle's oath related to a branch of 
his conduct, in which he was immediately directed 
of the Lord, and in reference to which, while he 

* 1.77 TXV i t UW -\v/ 



ON OATHS. 269 

continued under the influence of inspiration, it was 
impossible for him to promulgate any falsehood. 
An oath taken by such a person, under these ex- 
traordinary circumstances, appears to afford no real 
countenance to the swearing of uninspired persons 
on matters of a merely temporal nature. And, se- 
condly, though there is an obvious difficulty in re- 
conciling the supposition that the apostle Paul has 
sworn in his epistles, with that comprehensive and 
absolute prohibition of the practice which was is- 
sued by his Divine Master, yet I apprehend that 
no reasonable christian, in the regulation of his 
own conduct, would pretend to justify himself by 
the example of Paul, in the infringement of the lata 
of Christ. 

The signification of that law is, I would submit, 
far too plainly ascertained to be affected by the sup- 
posed collateral circumstance, that the apostle Paul 
has here made use of an oath. But now on the 
other hand, it may be observed, that the very ex- 
istence of such a law naturally and very properly 
leads us to a different interpretation of the apostle's 
expressions — an interpretation of which they are 
unquestionably capable, and which at once removes 
from the passage before us the true characteristic 
of an oath. The substantive already alluded to, as 
sometimes signifying the natural life or the immor- 
tal spirit, still more frequently denotes the mind — 
the seat of the intentions, thoughts, and disposi- 
tions. The apostle, therefore, may here be under- 
stood, as is observed, on the authority of two emi- 



270 ON OATHS. 

nent critics,* in Poole's Synopsis, simply to appeal 
to the Deity as the witness of his condition of mind 
— of his real motives and intentions — that to spare 
them, he came not again unto Corinth. " The holy 
apostle," says Theodoret, "wishing to persuade 
them of the truth of his assertions, calls in the 
testimony of Him who was the inspector of his 
thoughts"* 

Before we proceed to the remaining branch of the 
present subject, it may be desirable very briefly to 
notice a passage in the epistle to the Hebrews, 
which has sometimes been adduced in support of 
the practice of swearing: "For when God made 
promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no 
greater, he sware by himself, saying, 'Surely bless- 
ing I will bless thee, &c.' For men verily swear by 
the greater, and an oath for confirmation, is to them 
an end of all strife (or all litigation ;) wherein God, 
willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of 
promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed 
it by an oath ;" vi. 13 — 17. On this passage it may 
be remarked, that although Jehovah, who is infalli- 

* Vatablus and Castalio. 

| It is observed by Pye Smith, in his valuable work entitled The Scripture 
Testimony to the Messiah, that Paul, in his epistles, has sworn " by Christ." 
Such is the interpretation given by this writer to the expression tv Xg/ca in 
Rom. ix. 1, a passage which he renders "I speak the truth; by Christ! I 
lie not;" See vol. ii. part II. ch. iv. p. 637. That tv followed by a dative is 
sometimes used in the formula of an oath appears from Matt. v. 34, Rev. x. 
6, &c. But surely it is altogether unnecessary to attribute to the apostle 
so light and irreverent a use of the name of his Saviour. . The expressions 
n Xgua are of very frequent occurrence in Paul's epistles, and in scarcely 
coy instance are they capable, on any fair critical ground, of being thus in- 
terpreted. It appears to me that the true explanation of Rom. ix. 1, is to 
be found in the apostle's well known doctrine, that whatever the christian 
says or does, he is to say or do in the name of Christ — in the character of 
a disciple of Jesus; comp. II. Cor. ii. 17, xii. 19. 



ON OATHS. 271 

ble, was pleased to swear by himself, it can never 
follow from such a fact, that men, who are fallible, 
are at liberty to swear by Jehovah, who has himself 
forbidden them, in the moral law of Christianity, to 
swear at all. Neither does the apostle speak in 
commendation of the practice of putting an end 
to litigation, by the confirmation of an oath. He 
only illustrates his argument by adverting to the 
actual prevalence of that practice among mankind. 
Lastly, it is objected that oaths are, on many oc- 
casions, expedient for the purposes of civil society, 
and useful, more especially, in promoting the ends 
of Justice. Now, while it is plain that no expedi- 
ency can justify the infraction of a divine mandate 
so clear and comprehensive as the law of Christ 
against swearing, it may perhaps be admitted, that 
a real adaptation exists between the practice of judi- 
cial swearing, and that lax and imperfect morality 
which so grievously prevails in almost every part 
of the world. But where the principles of the gos- 
pel of Christ become really influential, there the 
expediency of swearing entirely ceases; nor does the 
congruity of the practice with a condition of second- 
rate morality, appear to furnish the true christian with 
an}' just excuse for relinquishing the lofty ground 
on which he ought ever to be found standing, or 
for disobeying the direct commands of his Divine 
Master. Those who are christians in deed as well 
as in profession, ought ever to remember that it is 
their high and peculiar privilege, to drop, in moral 
questions, the consideration of apparent expedien- 
cy ; to render to their Lord a strict and consistent 



272 ON OATHS. 

obedience ; and entirely to leave the consequences 
to his wisdom, love and care. It is through the 
steady adherence of really religious persons to their 
own holy principles of conduct, that practical truth 
may be expected to spread among men ; it is thus 
that "the little leaven" will gradually extend its 
purifying influence, until the whole lump be leaven- 
eel Nor will such a course be ever attended with 
any substantial or permanent disadvantage to the 
interests of the community at large. No one pre- 
tends, for example, that those interests have suffer- 
ed from the liberty allowed, upon so many legal oc- 
casions, to Friends, of affirming instead of swear- 
ing ; and there are few persons, perhaps, who will 
refuse to admit that the license thus afforded them, 
might be extended, without any real danger, to 
cases of every description. As it is with Friends 
in this respect, so it might be with serious chris- 
tians of every denomination. A steady and deter- 
mined adherence to the law of Christ, in this impor- 
tant particular, would soon be the means of procur- 
ing for them a similar liberty from the governments 
under which they live, and that liberty would be no 
less harmless to the public, than beneficial to them- 
selves. 

But the utility of judicial oaths, even among 
those whose standard of morals is not the standard 
prescribed by true Christianity, is, in all probabili- 
ty, greatty overrated. Magistrates are ever accus- 
tomed to judge of testimony, not so much by the 
solemnity of the obligation under which it is pro- 
nounced, as by the manner in which it is delivered. 



ON OATHS. 273 

and by the known character of the parties who deli- 
ver it. And in persons whose moral sense is fee- 
ble and degenerate, and who have in their own 
minds little real objection to the infraction of truth, 
veracity of evidence is far more likely to be obtain- 
ed by the uniform and speedy infliction of punish- 
ment on the breach of an affirmation, than by the 
easily disregarded influence of any form of words, 
however expressive and however solemn. 

In reverting to the principal heads of the present 
dissertation, I have again to observe, that while 
christians of every denomination unite in condemn- 
ing irreverent and conversational swearing, Friends 
decidedly object to any use of oaths whatsoever — 
that their objection is grounded on moral principles 
as well as on the revealed will of God — that the 
introduction of swearing on particular occasions, 
plainly lowers the general standard of simple truth — 
that the self imprecation essential to every oath is 
always presumptuous ; and in juridical swearing, as 
practised among modern christians, peculiarly rash 
and dangerous — that the precept of Christ, and 
that of his apostle James, against oaths, are of the 
most comprehensive and explicit character — that 
the attempt to explain those precepts as relating 
exclusively to conversational swearing, is, by seve- 
ral plain critical considerations, evinced to be futile— 
that the notion of our Lord's having been himself 
sworn in a court of justice, appears to be erroneous 
— that if it be true that Paul swore in his epistles, 
his example cannot be safely followed in opposition 
to the law of his Divine Master ; but that on ex- 

2 h 



274 ON OATHS. 

animation he in no case appears to have employed 
expressions which really amount to an oath — that 
true christians are far from being justified in break- 
ing the law of Christ because oaths may be deemed 
expedient among persons who are accustomed to an 
inferior standard of morals — and that even this ex- 
pediency is exceedingly doubtful. 

Since the moral principles on which we object to 
oaths are of so much practical weight; and since the 
authority under which we act, in refusing to swear, 
is at once so high and so clear, we may well be en- 
couraged to a persevering faithfulness in such a line 
of conduct. The steady sufferings of our forefathers 
have indeed been the means of earning for us, in 
reference to this particular, a great degree of ease 
and freedom. 

I cannot but indulge the hope that as such a 
faithfulness is maintained among Friends, and as 
their light is thus made to shine before other men, 
religious persons of every denomination will gradu- 
ally perceive the obligation which so plainly rests 
upon them, to abstain from all swearing. Certain- 
ly it must on all hands be allowed that the standard 
to which the professors of Christianity are at pre- 
sent accustomed, with regard to this subject, is mise- 
rably loiv. Not only are oaths, in our own enlighten- 
ed country, introduced in connexion with matters 
of solemn import, and in promotion of the ends of 
justice; but they are multiplied in every direction; 
are required by the law and taken by the subject 
on a thousand occasions of comparatively trifling 
consequence ; and are very generally administered 



ON OATHS. 275 

in a loose, technical, and irreverent manner. Such 
provisions are utterly disgraceful to the christian 
character of Great Britain ; and demand the speedy 
interference of those members of our legislature, 
who are blessed with a deep sense of the impor- 
tance of the principles of the gospel, and who know 
that the real prosperity of every nation depends 
on the consistency of its counsels with the will of 
God.* 

* Having- already quoted Paley as a defender of the use of oaths, I have 
the more pleasure in calling- to the recollection of my reader the following- 
excellent passage in his work on moral philosophy. " The obscure and 
elliptical form (of the English oath) together with the levity and frequency 
with which it is administered, has brought about a general inadvertency to 
the obligation of oaths, which, both in a religious and political view is much 
to be lamented; and it merits public consideration whether the requiring 
of oaths on so many frivolous occasions, especially in the customs, and in 
the qualification for petty offices, has any other effect, than to make them 
cheap in the minds of the people. A pound of tea cannot travel regularly 
from the ship to the consumer, without costing half a dozen oaths at least; 
and the same security for the due discharge of their office, namely, that of 
an oath, is required from a church warden and an archbishop, from a petty 
constable and the chief justice of England. Let the law continue its own 
sanctions, but let it spare the solemnity of an oath. And where it is necessary, 
for the want of something better to depend upon, to accept men's own words or 
own account, let it annex to prevarication penalties proportioned to the public 
consequences of the offence ;" vol. I. ch. xvi. p* 193. 



CHAPTER XL 



ON WAR. 



Of all the practices which disturb the tranquillity 
and lay waste the welfare of men, there is none 
which operates to so great an extent, or with so 
prodigious an efficacy, as tear. Not only is this 
tremendous and dreadfully prevalent scourge pro- 
ductive of an incalculable amount of bodily and 
mental suffering, — so that, in that point of view 
alone, it may be considered one of the most terrible 
enemies of the happiness of the human race — but 
it must also be regarded as a moral evil of the very 
deepest dye. " From whence come wars and fight- 
ings among you ?" said the apostle James, " come 
they not hence, even of your lusts which war in 
your members ? Ye lust and have not : ye kill and 
desire to have, and cannot obtain : ye fight and war : 
yet ye have not, because ye ask not;" chap. iv. 1. 
2. War, therefore, has its origin in the inordinate 
desires and corrupt passions of men ; and as is its 
origin, so is its result. Arising out of an evil root, 
this tree of bitterness seldom fails to produce, in 
vast abundance, the fruits of malice, wrath, cruelty, 
fraud, rapine, lasciviousness, confusion, and murder. 

Although there are few persons who will dispute 
the accuracy of this picture of war — although every 
one knows that such a custom is evil in itself and 
arises out of an evil source — and although the 



ON WAR. 27? 

general position, that war is at variance with the prin- 
ciples of Christianity, has a ver} r extensive currency 
among the professors of that religion — it is a singu- 
lar fact that Friends are almost the only class of 
christians who hold it to be their duty to God, to 
their neighbour, and to themselves, absolutely and 
entirely to abstain from that most injurious practice. 
While the views of Friends on the subject are thus 
comprehensive and complete, the generality of pro- 
fessing christians, and many even of a reflecting and 
serious character, are still accustomed to make dis- 
tinctions between one kind of war and another. 
They will condemn a war which is oppressive and 
unjust ; and in this respect they advance no farther 
than the moralists of every age, country, and reli- 
gion. On the other hand they hesitate as little in 
expressing their approbation of wars which are de- 
fensive, or which are otherwise undertaken in a just 
cause. 

The main argument, of a scriptural character, by 
which the propriety and rectitude of warfare in a 
just cause (as it is termed) is defended and main- 
tained, is the divinely sanctioned example of the an- 
cient Israelites. That the Israelites were engaged 
in many contests with other nations; that those 
contests were often of a very destructive character; 
and that they were carried forward, on the part of 
the Israelites, under the direct sanction, and often 
in consequence of the clear command, of the Al- 
mighty, are points which no one who is accustomed 
to peruse the history of the Old Testament, can 
pretend to deny. But we are not to forget that the 



278 ON WAR. 

wars of the Israelites differed from wars in general 
(even from those of the least exceptionable charac- 
ter in point of justice,) in certain very important 
and striking particulars. That very divine sanction 
which is pleaded as giving to the example of that 
people an authority of which other nations may still 
avail themselves in the maintenance of a similar 
practice, did, in fact, distinguish their wars from all 
those in which any other nation is known to have 
been ever engaged. They were undertaken in pur- 
suance of the express command of the Almighty 
Governor of mankind; and they were directed to 
the accomplishment of certain revealed designs of 
his especial providence. These designs had a two- 
fold object : the temporal preservation and prosper- 
ity of God's peculiar people, on the one hand, and 
the punishment and destruction of idolatrous nations, 
on the other. The Israelites and their kings were, 
indeed, sometimes engaged in combating their 
neighbours without any direction from their divine 
Governor, and even against his declared will ; and 
these instances will not of course be pleaded as an 
authority for the practice of war: but such of their 
military operations as were sanctioned and ordered 
of the Lord (and these only are adduced in the ar- 
gument in favour of war) assumed the character of 
a work of obedience and faith. They went forth 
to battle, from time to time, in compliance with the 
divine command, and in dependence upon that Be- 
ing who condescended to regulate their movements, 
and to direct their efforts, in the furtherance of his 
own providence. These characteristics in the di- 



ON WAR. 279 

vinely sanctioned warfare of the Hebrews, were at- 
tended with two consequences of the most marked 
and distinguishing character. In the first place, the 
conflicts in which this people were thus engaged, 
and which so conspicuously called into exercise 
their obedience and faith, were far from being at- 
tended by that destruction of moral and pious feel- 
ing, which is so generally the effect of war; but on 
the contrary were often accompanied by a condition 
of high religious excellence in those who were thus 
employed in fighting the battles of the Lord — an 
observation very plainly suggested by the history 
of Joshua and his followers, of the successive Judges, 
and of David. And secondly, the contests which 
were undertaken and conducted on the principles 
now stated were followed by uniform success. The 
Lord was carrying on his own designs, through cer- 
tain appointed instruments ; and under such circum- 
stances, while failure was impossible, success af- 
forded an evidence of the divine approbation. Now 
it cannot be predicated even of the justest wars, as 
they are usually carried on among the nations of 
the world, that they are undertaken with the re- 
vealed sanction,, or by the direct command of Jeho- 
vah — or that they are a work of obedience and 
faith — or that they are often accompanied with a 
condition of high religious excellence in those who 
undertake them — or that they are followed by uni- 
form success. On the supposition, therefore, that 
the system of Israelitish morals is still in force 
without alteration and improvement, it is manifest 
that we cannot justly conclude from the example 



280 ON WAR. 

of God's ancient people, that warfare, as it is gene- 
rally practised, even when it bears the stamp of 
honour or defence, is consistent with the will of 
God. 

In addition to the example of the Hebrews, the 
defenders of modern warfare are accustomed to 
plead the authority of John the Baptist; See Gro- 
tins de Jure Belli ac Pads, lib. I. cap. ii. § vii. 5. 
It is recorded in the gospel of Luke, that when that 
eminent prophet w T as preaching in the wilderness, 
various classes of persons resorted to him for ad- 
vice and instruction. Among others " the soldiers 
demanded of him, saying, And what shall we do? 
And he said unto them, Do violence to no man, nei- 
ther accuse any falsely, and be content with your 
w r ages ;" ch. iii. 14. Since the precept of John to 
these soldiers that they should do violence to no man, 
probably related to their deportment among their 
friends and allies, it may be allowed, that he did 
not on this occasion forbid the practice of fighting. 
On the other hand, it must be observed, that the 
expressions of the Baptist afford no direct encour- 
agement to that practice. I would suggest that, 
with reference to the present argument, his doctrine 
is neutral. The question whether war was in itself 
lawful or unlawful, is one which was probably placed 
beyond his scope, and which he obviously did not 
entertain. On the supposition that the soldiers 
would continue to be soldiers, he confined himself 
to recommending to them that gentle, orderly, and 
submissive, demeanour, which was so evidently 
calculated to soften the asperities of their profes^ 
sion. 



ON WAR. 281 

But, although John the Baptist was engaged in 
proclaiming the approach of the christian dispen- 
sation — the kingdom of heaven, he did not himself 
appertain to that kingdom: See Matt. xi. 11. He 
belonged to the preceding institution, and his moral 
system was that of the law. Now although, on the 
supposition that this system continues unchanged, 
it may fairly be denied, for the reasons now stated, 
that the example of the Hebrews, or the expressions 
of the Baptist, afford any valid authority for warfare 
as generally practised, it ought to be clearly under- 
stood, that the objection of Friends to every des- 
cription of military operation, is founded principally 
on that more perfect revelation of the moral law of 
God, which distinguishes the dispensation of the gos- 
pel of Christ. We contend, and that with no slight 
degree of earnestness, that all warfare — whatever 
are its peculiar features, circumstances, or pretexts — 
is wholly at variance with the revealed characteris- 
tics and known principles of the christian religion. 

In support of this position, I may, in the first 
place, adduce the testimony of the prophets; for 
these inspired writers, in their predictions respect- 
ing the gospel dispensation, have frequently alluded 
both to the superior spirituality and to the purer 
morality of that system of religion, of which the 
law with all its accompaniments was only the in- 
troduction. In the second chapter of the book of 
Isaiah we read the following prophecy : " And it 
shall come to pass in the last days that the mountain 
of the Lord's house shall be established in the top 
of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the 

2 N 



282 ON WAR. 

hills, and all nations shall flow unto it. And many 
people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up 
to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the 
God of Jacob ; and he will teach us of his ways, and 
we will walk in his paths ; for out of Zion shall go 
forth the law, and the w r ord of the Lord from Jeru- 
salem. And he shall judge among the nations, and 
rebuke many people ; and they shall beat their swords 
into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning 
hooks : nation shall not lift up sword against nation, 
neither shall they learn war any more ;" ver. 2 — 4. 
The prophet Micah repeats the same prediction, 
and adds the following animating description : " But 
they shall sit every man under his vine and under 
his fig tree ; and none shall make them afraid : for 
the mouth of the Lord of hosts hath spoken it;" 
Mic. iv. 1 — 4. 

It is allowed by the Jews that the " last days" of 
which these prophets speak, are the " days of the 
Messiah ;" and the unanimous consent of christian 
commentators confirms the application of those ex- 
pressions to the period of that glorious dispensation 
which was introduced by our Lord and Saviour, Je- 
sus Christ. Accordingly, the actual predictions of 
his coming are elsewhere accompanied with similar 
descriptions. In Isa. ix. 6, the Messiah is express- 
ly denominated the " Prince of Peace." In Isa. xi. 
the reign of Christ is painted in glowing colours, as 
accompanied by the universal harmony of God's 
creation. Lastly, in Zech. ix. 9, 10 ; we read as 
follows: Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, 
O daughter of Jerusalem : behold, thy King cometh 



ON WAR. 283 

unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, 
and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of 
an ass. And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, 
and the horse from Jerusalem, and the battle bow 
shall be cut off: and he shall speak peace unto the 
heathen: and his dominion shall be from sea even to 
sea, and from the river even to the ends of the earth;" 
comp. Ps. xlvi. 9. 

It is undeniable that, in these passages, a total 
cessation from the practice of war is described as 
one of the most conspicuous characteristics of Chris- 
tianity. Such a consequence is represented by 
Isaiah as arising from the conversion of the heathen 
nations, — as resulting from their being led into the 
ways, instructed in the law, and enlightened by the 
word, of the Lord. Whoever indeed were to be 
the members of the true church of God, she was no 
longer to participate in the warfare of the world. 
The chariot was to be cut off from Ephraim, and 
the war horse from Jerusalem. It is true that for 
the full accomplishment of these glorious prophe- 
cies, we must look forward to a period yet to come. 
But let us not deceive ourselves. The inspired 
writers describe this complete and uninterrupted 
peaceableness, as a distinguishing feature of the 
dispensation under which christians are living — as 
the result of obedience to that law which they are 
at all times bound to follow : and we may therefore 
infer, that, if the true nature of the christian dis- 
pensation were fully understood, and if the law by 
which it is regulated were exactly obeyed, a con- 
version to our holy religion, or the cordial and se« 



284 ON WAR. 

rious holding of it, would be uniformly accompanied 
with an entire abstinence from warfare. Thus the 
prevalence of the law of peace would be found com- 
mensurate, in every age of the church, with the 
actual extent of the Messiah's kingdom over men. 
As the language of prophecy clearly suggests this 
doctrine, so it will be found that, on the introduction 
of Christianity, there were promulgated certain mo- 
ral rules which, when fully and faithfully obeyed, 
infallibly lead to this particular result. Here I am 
by no means alluding exclusively to those divine 
laws, which condemn aggressive warfare and every 
species of unjust and unprovoked injury ; for these 
laws (however it may be the intention of christians 
to obey them) are far from being powerful enough 
to produce the effect in question. They were, in- 
deed, commonly admitted in the world, long before 
the commencement of the christian dispensation ; 
and neither before nor after that era, have they ever 
been found sufficient to convert the sword into the 
ploughshare, and the spear into the pruning hook. 
In point of fact, the distinction which men are ac- 
customed to draw between just and unjust warfare 
is, in a great plurality of instances, entirely nuga- 
tory ; for there are few wars, however atrocious, 
which are not defended, and not many perhaps 
which the persons waging them do not believe to 
be justified, by some plea or other connected with 
self-preservation or honourable retribution. In ad- 
dition therefore to the laws which forbid spontaneous 
injury, some stronger and more comprehensive 
principles were obviously needed, in order to the 



ON WAR. 285 

accomplishment of this great end; and these prin- 
ciples are unfolded in that pure and exalted code 
of morality which was revealed, in connexion with 
the gospel. They are, the non-resistance of injuries, 
the return of good for evil, and the love of our ene- 
mies. 

It was the Lord Jesus himself who promulgated 
these principles; and promulgated them as distin- 
guishing his own dispensation from that of the law. 
" Ye have heard that it hath been said, An e} r e for 
an eye, and a tooth for a tooth : but I say unto you, 
That ye resist not evil : but whosoever shall smite 
thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. 
And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take 
away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also. And 
whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with 
him twain, &c. Ye have heard that it hath been 
said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine 
enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, 
bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate 
you, and pray for them that despitefully use you, 
and persecute you; that ye may be the children of 
your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his 
sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and send- 
eth rain on the just and on the unjust. For if ye 
love them which love you, what reward have ye ? 
do not even the publicans the same? And if } r e 
salute your brethren only, what do you more than 
others ? do not even the publicans so ? Be ye there- 
fore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven 
is perfect ;" Matt. v. 38 — 48, comp. Luke vi. 27 — 
29. So also the apostle Peter commands the be- 



286 ON WAR. 

lievers not to render " evil for evil, nor railing for 
railing, but, contrariwise, blessing," I. Pet. iii. 9 ; 
and Paul in the following lively exhortation, holds 
up the very same standard of christian practice : 
" Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather 
give place unto wrath : for it is written, ' Vengeance 
is mine ; I will repay, saith the Lord.' Therefore 
if thine enemy hunger, feed him ; if he thirst, give 
him drink : for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of 
fire on his head. Be not overcome of evi\ r but over- 
come evil ivith good ;" Rom. xii. 19 — 21. 

In the delivery of that holy law, by obedience to 
which christians may be brought, in their small 
measure, (and yet with completeness according to 
that measure,) to a conformity with the moral at- 
tributes of their heavenly Father, our Lord has laid 
his axe to the root. He has established certain prin* 
ciples which, as they are honestly observed in con- 
duct, must put an end to every evil practice; and 
thus is the tree which bears the fruits of corruption 
cut down and destroyed. Of this nature precisely are 
the principles which we are now considering, and 
which, when followed up with true consistency, 
cannot fail to abolish warfare, whether offensive or 
defensive, whether aggressive or retributive, whe- 
ther unjust or just. The great law of Christ, which 
his disciples are ever bound to obey, is the law of 
love — love complete, uninterrupted, universal, fixed 
upon God in the first place, and afterwards em- 
bracing the whole family of man. And, since war 
(of whatsoever species or description it may be) 
can never consist with this love, it is indisputable 



ON WAR. 237 

that, where the latter prevails as it ought to do, the 
former must entirely cease. 

It is observed that our Lord's precepts, which 
have now been cited, are addressed to individuals. 
Since this is undeniably true, it follows that it is the 
clear duty of individual christians to obey them ; 
and to obey them uniformly, and on every occasion. 
If, during the common course of their life, they are 
attacked, insulted, injured, and persecuted, they 
ought to suffer wrong, to revenge no injury, to re- 
turn good for evil, and to love their enemies. So 
also, should it happen that they are exposed to the 
more extraordinary calamities of w r ar, their duty 
remains unaltered; their conduct must continue to 
be guided by the same principles. If the sword of 
the invader be lifted up against them, the precept 
is still at hand, that they resist not evil. If the in- 
sults and injuries of the carnal warrior be heaped 
upon them, they are still forbidden to avenge them- 
selves, and still commanded to pray for their perse- 
cutors. If they be surrounded by a host of enemies, 
however violent and malicious those enemies may 
be, christian love must still be unbroken, still uni- 
versal. According then to the law of Christ, it is 
the duty of individuals to abstain from all warfare ; 
nor can they avoid such a course if they follow his 
law. We are informed by Sulpitius Severus, that 
when the Roman Emperor Julian was engaged in 
bestowing upon his troops a largess with a view to 
some approaching battle, his bounty was refused by 
Martin a soldier in his army who had been previ- 
ously converted to Christianity. "Hitherto," said 



288 ON WAR. 

he to Caesar," I have fought for thee: permit me 
now to fight for my God. Let those who are about 
to engage in war accept thy donative ; I am the sol- 
dier of Christ ; for me, the combat is unlawful;" 
De Vita B. Mart Ed. Amst. a. d. 1665, p. 445. 
Where is the solid, the sufficient, reason, why such, 
under similar circumstances, should not be the ex- 
pressions of every true christian ? 

The man who engages in warfare, retains his 
private responsibility ; and, whatever may be the 
proceedings of his countrymen, whatever the com- 
mands of his superiors, he can never dispossess 
himself of his individual obligation to render to the 
law of his God a consistent and uniform obedience. 
But, secondly, the unlawfulness of war, under any 
of its forms, is equally evident when it is regarded 
as the affair of nations. Doubtless there may be 
found in the Scriptures a variety of injunctions re- 
lating to the particulars of human conduct, and ap- 
plicable to men and women only as individuals ; but 
it is one of the excellent characteristics of the moral 
law of God, that its principles are of universal ap- 
plication to mankind, whatever be the circumstances 
under which they are placed; whether they act 
singly as individuals, or collectively as nations. No 
one, surely, who has any just views of morality, will 
pretend, for a moment, that those fundamental rules 
of conduct, which are given to guide every man in 
his own walk through life, may be deserted as soon 
as he unites with others, and acts in a corporate 
capacity. The absurd consequence of such a sys- 
tem would be manifestlv this — that national crimes 



ON WAR. 289 

of every description might be committed without 
entailing any national guilt, and without any real 
infraction of the revealed will of God. 

Now among these fundamental rules — these eter- 
nal, unchangeable, principles — is that of universal 
love. The law of God, which is addressed without 
reservation or exception to all men, plainly says to 
them, Resist not evil : revenge not injuries : love 
your enemies. Individuals, nations consisting of in- 
dividuals, and governments acting on behalf of na- 
tions, are all unquestionably bound to obey this 
law ; and whether it is the act of an individual, of 
a nation, or of a government, the transgression of 
the law is sin; I. John iii. 4. Nations or govern- 
ments transgress the christian law of love, and com- 
mit sin, when they declare or carry on war, precise- 
ly as the private duellist transgresses that law, and 
commits sin, when he sends or accepts a challenge 
and deliberately endeavours to destroy his neigh- 
bour. It ought also to be observed that, through 
the medium of the nation, the case is again brought 
home to the conscience and responsibility of the 
individual. The man who takes a part, either 
himself or by a substitute, in the national war- 
fare, takes a part also in the national sin. He 
aids and abets his nation in breaking the law of 
Christ. So far then is the example of his country- 
men — the authority of his legislature — the com- 
mand of his monarch — from being sufficient to jus- 
tify his engagement in warfare, that he cannot fol- 
low that example, avail himself of that authority,or 
obey that command, without adding to his private 

2 o 



290 ON WAR. 

transgression, the further criminality of actively 
promoting the transgression of the state. 

For the reasons now stated, I consider it evident 
that a total abstinence from warfare on the part both 
of individuals and of nations, would be the necessa- 
ry result of a strict adherence to the principles of 
the law of Christ. But it will not be difficult to 
carry the argument a step further, and to show that 
one of the precepts, now cited from the sermon on 
the mount, appears to bear a specific and peculiar 
allusion to the subject of war. " Ye have heard that 
it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour and 
hate thine enemy ; but I say unto you Love your 
enemies" In the preceding chapter I have found 
occasion to remark that our Lord, in the first part 
of his discourse, has instituted a comparison be- 
tween the system of morality which, under the 
sanction and influence of the Mosaic institute, pre- 
vailed among the Israelites, and that purer and 
more perfect law of action, of which he was himself 
both the author and the minister. In calling the 
attention of his hearers to the sayings uttered " by 
them of old time" on the several moral points of 
his discourse, such as killing ,adultery, divorcement, 
perjury, and retaliation — he has uniformly quoted 
from the law of Moses itself. It was with the prin- 
ciples of that law, as they were understood and re- 
ceived by the Jews, that he compared his own ho- 
lier system, and he improved, enlarged, or super- 
seded, the introductory and more imperfect code of 
morals (as was in each particular required) in or- 
der to make way for one which is capable of no 



ON WAR. 291 

improvement, and must endure for ever. Now the 
precepts of ancient times to which he last refers — 
the precepts respecting love and hatred — formed, 
in all probability, like the whole preceding series, 
a part of those divine edicts which were delivered 
to the Israelites by Moses. That which related to 
the love of their neighbour is recognised at once, 
and is as follows : " Thou shalt not avenge nor bear 
any grudge against the children of thy people, but 
thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself;" Lev. xix. 
18. The reader will observe that the love here en- 
joined was to be directed to the children of the peo- 
ple of Israel. The neighbour to be loved was 
the fellow-countryman ; or if a stranger, the prose- 
lyte ; and the precept in fact commanded no more 
than that the Israelites — the members of the Lord's 
selected family — should love one another. So also 
the injunction of old, that the Israelites should hate 
their enemies, was exclusively national. They 
were not permitted to hate their private enemies, 
who belonged to the same favoured community. 
On the contrary they were enjoined to do good to 
such enemies as these : " If thou meet thine ene- 
my's ox or his ass going astray," said the law, 
"thou shalt surely bring it back to him again;" 
Exod. xxiii. 4. But they were to hate* their na- 
tional enemies — they were to make no covenant 
with the foreign and idolatrous tribes, who former- 
ly possessed the land of Canaan. " When the Lord 

* The verb "to hate" as used in the Holy Scriptures (Heb. njp, Gr. 
jut<7ia>) does not imply malignity of mind so much as opposition and enmity 
in action,- as the reader may be fully convinced on a reference to the con- 
cordances; See Schkusner, Lex. voc. puna, No. 1. 



292 ON WAR. 

thy Gad shall bring thee into the land whither thou 
goest to possess it," said Moses to the assembly of 
his people, " and hath cast out many nations before 
thee, the Hittites, and the Girgashites, and the 
Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, 
and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, seven nations 
greater and mightier than thou; and when the Lord 
thy God shall deliver them before thee, thou shalt 
smite them, and utterly destroy them ; thou shalt 
make no covenant with them, nor show mercy unto 
them;" Deut. vii. 1, 2. comp. Exod. xxxiv. 11 — 13. 
On another occasion, a similar injunction was deli- 
vered respecting the Amalekites : " Therefore it 
shall be, when the Lord thy God hath given thee 
rest from all thine enemies round about, in the land 
which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inherit- 
ance to possess it, that thou shalt blot out the re- 
membrance of Jlmalek from under heaven; thou 
shalt not forget it ;" Deut. xxv. 19. 

Such was the hatred of enemies enjoined upon 
ancient Israel, and such was the manner in which 
it was to be applied — in the persevering, extermi- 
nating use of the national sword.* Now it is to 
these edicts, delivered in the times of old, and un- 
der the peculiar circumstances of the dispensation 



* Grotius, in his wovk Be Jure Belli ac Pads, has himself insisted on this 
interpretation of the saying of old times respecting" hatred, "Odio habebis 
inimicum tuum, puta septem populos, quibuscum amicitiam cole re. quo- 
ruu.que misereri, vetantur," Exod. xxxiv. 11, Deut vii. 1. "His adden- 
di Amulecitse, in quos Hebrasi jubentur bellum habere implacabile;" Deut. 
xxv. 19. Lib. I. cap. 2, § hi. 1. The correctness of the observation thus 
made by this learned defender of war is, I think, indisputable ; but it is 
surprising that he did not notice the argument winch it so obviously af- 
fords, in favour of the doctrine that, under the christian dispensation, war is 
unlawful. 



ON WAR. 293 

then existing, that the law of Christ is placed in 
opposition :" u But I say unto you, Love your ene- 
mies." How much soever, then, we may be justi- 
fied by the undoubted universality of this law, in 
applying it to the circumstances of private life, we 
can scarcely fail to perceive that it was principally 
intended to discountenance these national enmities : 
and that the love here enjoined was specifically and 
peculiarly such as would prevent the practice of tear* 
The Israelites were commanded to combat and 
destroy with the sword the nations who were their 
own enemies, and the enemies of God. But chris- 
tians are introduced to a purer and more lovely 
system of moral conduct ; and the law which they 
are called upon to obey, is that which proclaims 
peace upon earth and good will to men ; they are 
commanded to be the friends of all mankind. If 
they are sent forth among idolatrous nations, it is 
as the ministers of their restoration, and not as the 
instruments of their punishment ; and as they may 
not contend with the sword against the enemies of 
their God, much less may they wield it for any pur- 
pose of their own, whether it be in aggression, re- 
tribution, or defence. Armed with submission, for- 
bearance, and long-suffering, they must secede from 
the warfare of a wrathful and corrupt world ; and 
whatever be the aggravations to which they are ex- 
posed, must evince themselves, under the softening 
influence of universal love, to be the meek, the 
harmless, the benevolent, followers of the Prince 
of Peace. 
I know of nothing in the New Testament which 



294 ON WAR. 

has any appearance of contravening the force of 
these divine precepts, or of the deductions now 
made from them, but a single passage in the gospel 
of Luke. We are informed by that sacred histo- 
rian, that after our Lord's paschal supper, and im- 
mediately before he was betrayed into the hands of 
his enemies, Jesus thus addressed his disciples : — 
" When T sent you without purse, and scrip, and 
shoes, lacked ye any thing ? And they said, Nothing. 
Then said he unto them, But now, he that hath a purse, 
let him take it, and likewise his scrip: and he that hath 
no sivord, let him sell his garment and buy one. For I 
say unto you, that this that is written must yet be 
accomplished in me, 'And he was reckoned among 
the transgressors :' for the things concerning me 
have an end;" ch. xxii. 35 — 37. The words em- 
ployed by the Lord Jesus on this occasion may, 
when superficially considered, be deemed to incul- 
cate the notion that his followers were permitted 
and enjoined to defend themselves and their reli- 
gion with the sword; but the context and the cir- 
cumstances which followed after these words were 
uttered, evidently decide otherwise. The disciples 
appear after their usual manner to have understood 
their Lord literally, and they answered, " Here are 
two swords," and Jesus replied, It is enough. Now 
in declaring that two swords were enough, although 
they were then exposed to aggravated and immedi- 
ately impending danger, he offered them an intelligi- 
ble hint that he had been misunderstood— thatthe use 
of the sword in defence of their little company, was 
neither consistent with his views, nor really implied 



ON WAR. 295 

in his injunction. But the opportunity was at hand 
on which the disciples were to be completely unde- 
ceived. The enemies of Jesus approached, armed 
and caparisoned as if they were in pursuit of some 
violent robbers. When the disciples saw what 
would follow, they said unto Jesus, " Lord shall we 
smite with the sword ?" and Peter, the most zealous 
of their number, without waiting for his Master's 
reply, rushed forward and smote the servant of the 
High Priest, and cut off his ear. Then were he 
and his brethren clearly instructed by their Lord, 
that it was their duty, not to fight but to suffer 
wrong. " Suffer ye thus far," said he to Peter, and 
immediately afterwards he confirmed his doctrine 
by action : he touched the wounded man and heal- 
ed him. Then, in expressions of the greatest sig- 
nificancy, he cried out to Peter, " Put up thy sword 
into the sheath: the cup which my Father hath 
given me, shall I not drink it?" See John xviii. 11: 
and as a universal caution against so antichristian 
a practice as that of using destructive weapons in 
self-defence, he added, "Ml they that take the sword 
shall perish with the sword ;" Matt. xxvi. 52. Last- 
ly, when soon afterwards he was carried before 
Pilate the Roman Governor, he plainly declared 
that his kingdom was of such a nature, that it nei- 
ther required nor allowed the defence of carnal 
weapons. "My kingdom," said he, "is not of this 
world. If my kingdom were of this world, then 
would my servants fight, that I should not be deliver- 
ed to the Jews; but now is my kingdom not from 
hence ;" John xviii. 36. 



29(3 ON WAR. 

It is sufficiently evident, therefore, that when our 
Lord exhorted his disciples to sell their garments 
and buy swords, his precept was not to be under- 
stood literally. Such, indeed, is the explicit judg- 
ment of the generality of commentators. We may, 
therefore, either conclude with Erasmus that the 
sword of which our Lord here spake was the sword 
of the Spirit — the word of God, see Com. in loc. ; 
or we may accede to the more prevalent opinion 
of critics, that the words of Jesus imported nothing 
more than a general warning to the disciples, that 
their situation was about to be greatly changed — 
that they were soon to be deprived of the personal 
and protecting presence of their Divine Master — 
that they would be exposed to every species of diffi- 
culty, and become the objects of hatred and perse- 
cution — that they would no longer be able to trust 
in their neighbours, and would, therefore, be driven 
to a variety of expedients in order to provide for 
their own maintenance and security. See Estius> 
Vatahlus, and others in Poli Syn., Gill, fyc. 

In order to complete the present branch of the 
argument, I have, in the last place, to remark, that 
the doctrine of the Society of Friends respecting 
the absolute inconsistency of warfare with the moral 
code of the christian dispensation, was one which 
prevailed to a very considerable extent, during the 
early ages of the christian church. Justin Martyr, 
(a. d. 140) in his first apology, quotes the prophecy 
of Isaiah, (already cited in the present chapter,) re- 
specting the going forth of the law and of the word 
of God from Jerusalem, and the consequent preva- 



ON WAR. 297 

lence of a state of peace. " That these things have 
come to pass," he proceeds, "you may be readily 
convinced: for twelve men destitute both of instruc- 
tion and of eloquence, went forth from Jerusalem 
into the world, and by the power of God gave evi- 
dence to every description of persons, that they 
were sent by Christ to teach all men the divine 
word: and we who were once slayers of one another 
(that is to say, commonly engaged in warfare) do 
not fight against our enemies ;"* Apol. i. cap. 39, p. 
67, Ed. Ben. Irenaeus JJishop of Lyons (a. d. 167) 
discusses the same prophecj 7 , and proves its relation 
to our Saviour, by the fact that the followers of Je- 
sus had disused the weapons of war and no longer 
knew how to fight ;t Jldv. Hcer. lib. iv. cap. 34. Ed. 
Ben. p. 275. Tertullian, (a. d. 200) in one part of 
his works, alludes to christians who were engaged 
together with their heathen countrymen in military 
pursuits, Apol. cap. 42, Ed. Semler. v. 102 ;J but on 
another occasion, he informs us that many soldiers 
who had been converted to Christianity, quitted those 
pursuits in consequence of their conversion ;§ and 
he repeatedly expresses his own opinion that any 

* OU TTOKi/ACVfAiV TSt/f i%QplU;. 

j " Si autem libertutis lex, id ert, verbum Dei ab apostolis, qui ab 
Hit-rusalera exierunt, annuntialum hi universam terram, in tantum trans- 
mutationem fecit, ut g-ladibs et lanceas bellatoriasin aratra fabricaverit ipse, 
et in f'alces quae donavit ad metendum frumentum demutaverit, et jam 
nesciunt pug?iare, sed percussi et alteram prsebent maxlllam ; non de aliquo 
alio Prophetse dixerunt luec, sed de eo qui fecit ea." 

4 «< Navigamus et ncs vobiscum et militamus." 

§ ** plane si quos militia praeventos fides posterior invenit, alia conditio 
est, ut illorum quos Ioannes admittebat ad lavacrum; et centurionum 
fidelissimorum, quern Christus probat, et quern Petrus catechizat: dum 
tamen suscepta fide atque sig-nata, aut deserendum statim sit, ut a multis 
actum,- aut omnibus modis cavendum, ne quidquid adversus Deum com. 
mittatur," De Cor. Mil. cap. ii. 

2 p 






298 ON WAR. 

participation in war was unlawful for believers in 
Jesus — not only because of the idolatrous practices 
enjoined on the soldiers of the Roman armies, but 
because Christ had forbidden the use of the sword 
and the revenge of injuries f De Idol. 19 ; Ed. Sem- 
ler iv* 176; De Coron. Mil. 12, iv. 355. Origen (a. 
d. 230) in his work against Celsus, says of himself 
and his brethren, " We no longer take up the sword 
against any nation, nor do we learn any more to 
make war. We have become, for the sake of Jesus, 
the children of peace ;" Lib. v. 33, Ed. Ben. i. 602. 
In another passage of the same work he maintains 
that christians are the most useful of subjects be- 
cause they pray for their monarch. " By such 
means," says he, " we fight for our king abundantly: 
but toe take no part in his wars, even though he urge 
ustf Lib. viii. 73, Ed. Ben. i. 797. Here we have 
not only the declarations of this ancient and eminent 
father of his own sentiment, that war is inconsistent 
with the religion of Christ; but a plain testimony 
(corresponding with that of Justin and IrenaHis) 
that the christians of those early times were accus- 
tomed to abstain from it. Traces of the same doc- 
trine and practice are very clearly marked in the 
subsequent history of the church. Under the reign 
of Dioclesian (a. d. 300) more especially, a large 

* " Quomodo autem bellabit, imo quomodo etiam in pace militabit, sine 
gladio, quern Dominus abstulit ? Nam etsi adierant milites ad Ioannem et 
formam observations acceperant ; si etiam centurio crediderat; omnem 
postea militem Dominus in Petro exarmando discinxit f De Idol. cap. 19. 
«' Licebit in gladio conversari, Domino pronunciante gladio peritururo, qui 
gladio fuerit usus? Et pra;lio operabitur (alius pacis, cui nee litig-are con- 
venient ? Et vincula et carcerem et tormenta et supplicia adminisU'abit, ncc 
suarum ultor injuriarum?" De Cor. Mil. cap. ii. 

j" QV TVC£dL<TiVOfA&ct /UiV O.VTU, XO.V iTTiiyi). 



ON WAR. 299 

number of christians refused to serve in the army, 
and in consequence of their refusal, many of them 
suffered martyrdom ; Vide Grot, de Jure Bell. lib. i. 
cap. ii. § 8. Ruinart Acta Martyrum ; de S. Maxi- 
miliano, Ed. Jlmst. p. 300. Now although the con- 
duct of these christians might partly arise, as Gro- 
tius suggests, from their religious objections to the 
idolatrous rites at that time mixed up with the mi- 
litary system, it is probable that the unlawfulness 
of war itself for the followers of Christ, was also a 
principle on which they acted. Thus Lactantius, 
who wrote during the reign of this very emperor, 
expressly asserts that " to engage in war cannot be 
lawful for the righteous man whose warfare is that 
of righteousness itself;"* De vero Cultu, lib. vi. cap. 
20. And again, in the twelfth canon of the Council 
of Nice held under the reign of Constantine (a. d. 
325,) a long period of excommunication is attached, 
as a penalty, to the conduct of those persons who, 
having once in the ardour of their early faith re- 
nounced the military calling, were persuaded by 
the force of bribes to return to it — * like dogs 
to their own vomit;" Vide Mansii Coll. Condi, 
torn. ii. p. 674. The circumstances particularly al- 
luded to, in this canon, might indeed have taken 
place during the tyranny of the idolatrous Licinius, 
whom Constantine had so lately subdued; but the 
canon itself, was, I presume, intended for the future 
regulation of the church; and such a law would 
scarcely have been promulgated under the reign 
of the converted Constantine, had not an opinion 
}>een entertained in the council, that war itself 

* " Ita neque mijitare justo Jicpbit, cujus militia est ipsa justitia." 



300 ON WAR. 

however prevalent and generally allowed, was in- 
consistent with the highest standard of christian 
morality. We have already noticed the declaration 
of Martin, addressed to the Emperor Julian, (a. d. 
360) that it was unlawful for him to fight because 
he was a christian ; and even so late as the middle 
of the fifth century, Leo the Pope declared it to 
be " contrary to the rules of the church that per- 
sons after the action of penance (persons then con- 
sidered to be pre-eminently bound to obey the law 
of Christ) should revert to the warfare of the 
world;" Epist. ii. # 

Having thus endeavoured to establish and con- 
firm the sentiment of Friends, that all participation 
in this warfare of the world is forbidden by the law 
of Christ, and especially by that provision of it 
which enjoins the love of our enemies, I must, in or- 
der to do full justice to the present important sub- 
ject, advert to another principle, which appears to 
me equally to evince the total inconsistency of the 
practice of war with the true character of the chris- 
tian religion — the principle that human life is sacred, 
and that death is followed by infinite consequences. 
Under the dispensation of the law, the Israelites 
were, on various occasions, enjoined to inflict death; 
both in the capital punishment of their own delin- 
quents, and in those wars which had for an object 
the extermination of idolatrous nations. When the 
destruction of the life of men was thus expressly 
authorized by the mandate of the Creator, it is un- 

* " Contrarium esse ecclesiasticis regulis, post pccnitentire actionem re- 
dire ad militiam secularem;" Quoted by GrQtius. dc Jure Belli, lib. i. cap. 



ON WAR. 301 

questionable that the life of men was rightly de- 
stroyed : but the searcher of the Scriptures will not 
fail to remark that the sanction thus given to killing, 
was accompanied with a comparatively small de- 
gree of illumination respecting the true nature of 
life and death — respecting immortality and future 
retribution. Bishop Warburton, in his work on the 
divine legation of Moses, has endeavoured to prove 
the truth of the miraculous history of the Penta- 
teuch, on the ground that the Israelites, who were 
destitute of all knowledge on the subject in ques- 
tion, could be governed, as they were governed, 
only through the medium of miracles. Now al- 
though the Bishop may have overstrained his argu- 
ment, and although there are certain passages in 
the Old Testament which allude to a life after death, 
and to a future judgment, it is sufficiently evident 
that the full revelation of these important truths 
was reserved for the dispensation of the gospel of 
Christ. Those who are accustomed to read the de- 
clarations of Jesus and his apostles, can no longer 
conceal from themselves that man is born for eter- 
nity; that when his body dies, his soul ascends into 
Paradise, Luke xxiii. 42, &c. or is cast into hell, 
Luke xvi. 23 ; and that after the day of resurrec- 
tion, and of final and universal judgment, we shall 
all reap the full and eternal reward of our obedience 
or our rebellion, of our virtue or our vice. Chris- 
tians thus instructed and enlightened are constrain- 
ed to acknowledge, that the future welfare of an 
individual man, is of greater importance than the 
present and merely temporal prosperity of a whole 



302 ON WAR. 

uation ; nor can they, if they be consistent with 
themselves, refuse to confess that, unless in such an 
action they are sanctioned by the express authority 
of their divine Master, they take upon themselves 
a most unwarrantable responsibility when they cut 
short the days of their neighbour, and transmit him, 
prepared or unprepared, to the awful realities of an 
everlasting state. Since, then, no such express au- 
thority can be found in the New Testament ; since, 
on the contraiy, it is clearly declared in that sacred 
volume, that the kingdom of Christ is not of this 
world, and that his followers " war not after the 
flesh" — I cannot but conclude that for one man to 
kill another (under whatever circumstances of expe- 
diency or provocation the deed may be committed,) 
is utterly unlawful under the christian dispensation. 
The visible effects of the far-famed battle of Wa- 
terloo were sufficiently appalling— r-multitudes of the 
wounded, the dying, and the dead, spread in wild 
confusion over the ensanguined plain ! But did chris- 
tians fully know the invisible consequences of such 
a contest— could they trace the flight of thousands 
of immortal souls (many of them disembodied, per- 
haps, while under the immediate influence of dia- 
bolical passions) into the world of eternal retribu- 
tion — they would indeed shrink with horror from 
such a scene of destruction, and adopt, without 
further hesitation, the same firm and unalterable 
conclusion.* 

* It is evident that the principle now stated applies to the punishment 
of death as well as to war. The use of such a punishment was, indeed, 
consistent with that inferior degree of moral and religious light which was 
enjoyed by the people of God, before the coming of the Messiah; but, on 



ON WAR. 303 

Such, then, are the grounds on which Friends 
consider it to be their duty entirely to abstain from 
the practice of war. On a review of the whole ar- 
gument the reader will recollect, that the wars of 
the Israelites bore, in various respects, so peculiar 
a character, as to afford no real sanction to those of 
other nations, even on the supposition that the dis- 
pensation of the law is continued — also that the 
precept of John the Baptist to soldiers appears, in 
reference to the present question, to be negative — 
but that the opinion of Friends on that question 
rests principally on the moral law, as revealed un- 
der the christian dispensation — that abstinence from 
warfare among the followers of the Messiah, was 

*he ground now mentioned, it appears to be at total variance with the cha- 
racteristics of the christian revelation. Such was the opinion of some of the 
early fathers of the church, as well as of more modern philanthropists. 
Tertullian classes a participation in capital condemnations with the aiding 
and abetting of idolatry itself : for in one of the passages already cited from 
his works, we find him reasoning on the possible innocence of a war, cut 
non sit necessitas immolationum (of sacrifices to idols) vel capitalium judi- 
ciorum,- De Idol. 19. So also Lactantius; " It is unlawful for a righteous 
man to prosecute any person capitally; for it matters not whether we kill 
by the sword or by the word — since all killing is prohibited.- This divine 
law allows of no exception. It must ever be a forbidden wickedness to put 
man to death: for God has created him a sacred animal;" De vero cultu, lib. 
vi. cap. 20. 

It may indeed be reasonably questioned whether the infliction of death 
as a punishment for murder is not still sanctioned by the divine edict deli- 
vered to Noah and his family — " Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall 
his blood he shed: for in the image of God made he man;" Gen. ix. 6. That 
this is the sentiment of christians in general, and of some of the members 
of our own Society, I am well aware; nor do I forget that William Penn 
and his council, when they settled the laws of Pennsylvania,, enacted the 
capital punishment of this worst of crimes. For my own part, I incline to 
the opinion, that this divine declaration, like similar provisions in the Mo- 
saic law, was not intended to have a permanent operation- that it was pro- 
mulgated at a period when the moral law of God was not fully revealed to 
men— and that the infliction of the punishment of death even for murder 
is, on the whole, inconsistent with the perfection of the christian system. , 

On the subject of the inexpediency of capital punishments and of their 
practical inconsistency with the present condition of the British population, 
the reader is referred to the speech of Thomas Fowell Buxton, delivered- 
in the House of Commons, during the session. of 1821, and since published. 



304 ON WAR. 

predicted by the prophets, as one of the principal 
characteristics of that dispensation — that, in the 
, code of christian morality, are fully unfolded the 
principles which are alone sufficiently powerful to 
produce this effect, namely, those of suffering wrong, 
returning good for evil, and loving our enemies — 
that since these principles were so clearly promul- 
gated by Jesus and his apostles, the individual who 
engages in warfare and destroys his enemy, whe- 
ther it be in aggression or defence, plainly infringes 
the divine law — that nations when they carry on 
war do also infringe that law — and that the christian 
who fights by the command of his prince, and in 
behalf of his country, not only commits sin in his 
own person, but aids and abets the national trans- 
gression — that on a consideration of the Jewish 
precepts, with which is compared the injunction of 
Christ to his followers respecting the love of their 
enemies, it appears that this injunction was specifi- 
cally directed against national wars — that when our 
Lord exhorted his disciples to sell their garments 
and buy swords, it is evident, from the circumstan- 
ces which followed, that his expressions were to be 
understood figuratively — that the sentiments and 
practices of Friends, in reference to the present 
subject, are so far from being new and extraordi- 
nary, that they form a striking and prevalent feature 
in the early history of the christian church — lastly, 
that the practice of warfare is directly at variance 
with the full light enjoyed under the gospel dispen- 
sation respecting life, death, and eternity. 

Notwithstanding the clearness and importance of 



ON WAR. 305 

those principles which evince the utter inconsis- 
tency of the practice of war, with the christian dis- 
pensation, it is continually pleaded that wars are 
often expedient, and sometimes absolutely neces- 
sary for the preservation of states. To such a plea 
it might be sufficient to answer that nothing is so 
expedient, nothing so desirable, nothing so necessa- 
ry, either for individuals or for nations, as a con- 
formity, in point of conduct, with the revealed will 
of the Supreme Governor of the universe. I may, 
however, in conclusion, venture to offer a few ad- 
ditional remarks on this last part of our subject. 

Let reflecting christians, in the first place, take 
a deliberate survey of the history of Europe during 
the last eighteen centuries, and let them impartially 
examine how many of the wars waged among chris- 
tian nations have been, on their own principles, 
really expedient or necessary on either side, for the 
preservation of states. I apprehend that the result 
of such an examination would be a satisfactory con- 
viction, that by far the greater part of those wars 
are so far from having truly borne this character, 
that, notwithstanding the common excuse of self- 
defence by which, in so many cases, they have been 
supposed to be justified, they have, in point of fact, 
even in a political point of view, been much more 
hurtful than useful to all the parties engaged in 
them. Where, for instance, has England found an 
equivalent for the almost infinite profusion of blood 
and treasure, which she has wasted on her many 
wars ? Must not the impartial page of history de- 
cide that almost the ivhole of her wars, however 

2* 



306 ON WAR. 

justified in the view of the world by the pleas of 
defence and retribution, have in fact been waged 
against imaginary dangers, might have been avoided 
by a few harmless concessions, and have turned out 
to be extensively injurious to her in many of their 
results ? If christians would abstain from all wars 
which have no better foundation than the false sys- 
tem of worldly honour — from all which are not, on 
political grounds, absolutely inevitable — from all 
which are not, in reality, injurious to their country — 
they would take a very important step towards the 
adoption of that entirely peaceable conduct which 
is upheld and defended by the Society of Friends. 
After such a step had been taken, it must, indeed, 
be admitted that certain occasions might remain, on 
which warfare would appear to be expedient and, 
according to the estimate of most persons, actually 
necessary, for the mere purposes of defence and 
self-preservation. On such occasions I am well 
aware, that, if we are to abide by the decisions of 
that lax and subordinate morality which so gene- 
rally prevails among the professors of the christian 
name, we must confess that war is right, and cannot 
be avoided. But for true christians, for those who 
are brought under the influence of vital religion, 
for those who would " follow the Lamb whithersoever 
he goeth," war is never right. It is always their 
duty to obey his high and holy law — to suffer wrong 
— to return good for evil-^-to love their enemies. 
If, in consequence of their obedience to this law, 
they apprehend themselves to be surrounded with 
many dangers — if tumult and terror assail them — 



ON WAR. 307 

let them still remember that " cursed" is " the man 
that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm :" 
let them still place an undivided reliance upon the 
power and benevolence of their God and Saviour. 
It may be his good pleasure that they be delivered 
from the outward peril by which they are visited ; 
or he may decree that they fall a sacrifice to that 
peril. But whatever be the result, as long as they 
are preserved in obedience to his law, so long are 
they safe in his hands. They "know that all things 
work together for good to them that love God ;" 
Rom. viii. 28. 

Godliness, however, has the promise of this life, 
as well as of that which is to come ; we may, there- 
fore, entertain a reasonable confidence, that our 
temporal happiness and safety, as well as our growth 
in grace, will in general be promoted by obedience 
to our heavenly Father. It is not in vain, even in 
an outward point of view, that God has invited his 
unworthy children to cast their cares upon him ; 
and to trust him for their support and protection ; 
for though he may work no miracles in their favour, 
the very law which he gives them to obey, is adapt- 
ed, in a wonderful manner, to convert their other- 
wise rugged path through life, into one of compara- 
tive pleasantness, security, and peace. These ob- 
servations are applicable with a peculiar degree of 
force, to those particulars in the divine law, which, 
as they are closely followed, preclude all warfare. 
No weapons of self-defence will, on the whole, be 
found so efficacious as christian meekness, kindness, 
and forbearance, the suffering of injuries, the absence 



308 ON WAR. 

of revenge, the return of good for evil, and the ever- 
operating love of God and man. Those who regulate 
their life and conversation with true circumspection, 
according to these principles, have, for the most 
part, little reason to fear the violent hand of the 
enemy and the oppressor. While they clothe them- 
selves in the breastplate of righteousness, and (irm- 
ly grasp the shield of faith, they are quiet in the 
centre of storms, safe in the heart of danger, and 
victorious amidst a host of enemies. 

Such, in a multitude of instances, has been the 
lot of christian individuals, and such might also be 
the experience of christian nations. When we con- 
sider the still degraded condition of mankind, we 
can hardly at present look forward to the trial of 
the experiment ; but was there a people who would 
renounce the dangerous guidance of worldly honour, 
and boldly conform their national conduct to the 
eternal rules of the law of Christ — was there a peo- 
ple who would lay aside the weapons of a carnal 
warfare, and proclaim the principles of universal 
peace; suffer wrong with condescension; abstain 
from all retaliation ; return good for evil, and dili- 
gently promote the welfare of all men — I am fully- 
persuaded, that such a people would not only dwell 
in absolute safety, but would be blessed with eminent 
prosperity, enriched with unrestricted commerce, 
loaded with reciprocal benefits, and endowed, for 
every good, and wise, and worthy, purpose, with 
irresistible influence over surrounding nations. 






CHAPTER XII. 



ON THE MORAL VIEWS OF FRIENDS. PLAINNESS OF 
SPEECH, BEHAVIOUR, AND APPAREL. 

From the statements contained in the two pre- 
ceding chapters, it will have been observed, that, on 
two practical points of a very leading and important 
character, Friends have been led to adopt a higher 
and purer standard of action, and one which appears 
to be more exactly conformed to the requisitions 
of the divine law, than that which generally prevails 
among their fellow-christians. 

In point of fact, the adoption of an exalted stan- 
dard of action is the proper result of their main 
and fundamental principle, that, in matters of con- 
duct, man is bound to follow the guidance of a per- 
fectly wise and holy Monitor — even the Word of 
the most high God, revealed in the heart ; a guide 
who will never fail to distinguish the good from the 
evil, the precious from the vile. According to the 
doctrine of the inspired author of the epistle to the 
Hebrews, this Word of God "is quick and power- 
ful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing 
even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and 
of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the 
thoughts and intents of the heart. Neither is there 
any creature," adds the apostle, " that is not mani- 
fest in his sight; but all things are naked and opened 



310 MORAL VIEWS OF FRIENDS. 

unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do;* ; 
Heb. iv. 12, 13.* 

True christians of every name and nation will 
ever be found producing the fruits of the Spirit : 
it is by those fruits alone that they are known and 
distinguished, nor can any one who does not bear 
them, however right his opinions, or orthodox his 
profession, justly claim a membership in the mysti- 
cal body of Christ. Being thoroughly convinced 
of these truths, I am little disposed to forget either 
the virtues of those real christians who do not coin- 
cide with us in our peculiar views, or the moral de- 
ficiencies and delinquencies, which, when we for- 
sake the Fountain of living waters, quickly make 
their appearance among ourselves. Nevertheless, 
the impartial observer will probably allow that the 
force and clearness, with which Friends maintain 
that great principle of religion to which I have now 
adverted, is accompanied, in the serious part of the 
society, with a corresponding completeness of view 
respecting good and evil. " Wherewith shall I 
come before the Lord and bow myself before the 
high God? Shall I come before him with burnt of- 
ferings, with calves of a year old ? Will the Lord 
be pleased with thousands of rams or with ten 

* It might undoubtedly be said of the word of God, as it is outwardly 
preached, (when applied by the Spirit of truth,) that it is quick and pow- 
erful, and sharper than any two-edged sword. When, however, we view 
this passage as a whole, we can scarcely fail to perceive that the apostle is 
speaking of the essential word of God, that divine Ferson "with whom we 
have to do," and who, in the subsequent verse, is plainly described as " a 
great High Priest— Jesus the Son of God;" see ver. 14. Such is the ex- 
press judgment of a variety of able commentators; see Foli Synopsis. On 
the supposition that the passage describes the Son of God, it appears very 
plainly to relate to the secret operations of his Spirit in the hearts of men,- 
comp. John i. 4, 9, II. Cor. iii. 17. 



MORAL VIEWS OF FRIENDS. 311 

thousands of rivers 6f oil ? Shall I give my first- 
born for my transgression, the fruit of my body for 
the sin of my soul ? He hath shewed thee, O man, 
what is good ; and what doth the Lord require of 
thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to toalk 
humbly with thy God?" Mic. vi. 6 — 8. As Friends 
have been much impressed with the inefficacy of 
sacrificial rites and other formal ordinances ; so have 
they been led to direct a very particular attention 
to the several branches of moral duty which are in- 
culcated in this passage of Scripture, and which, 
under the gospel dispensation, are unfolded and re- 
quired in their true perfection. A few examples 
will elucidate and justify this assertion — it being 
always understood that my appeal is not to the 
practice of the unsound professor or mere formalist 
amongst us, but to the principles of the society as 
they are recognised and enforced in its public acts,* 
and as they are in some small measure, I trust, 
manifested in the known conduct and deportment of 
its more consistent members. 

With regard then in the first place, to the great 
christian law of truth and integrity, the reader may 
already have remarked that the testimony of Friends 
against the use of the oath in confirmation of the 
assertion, is founded on a just though exalted view 
of this law. A similar high standard, in reference 

* The laws by which the discipline of Friends is regulated, and the mo- 
ral and religious principles by which the society is distinguished, will be 
found recorded under various heads, (as many of my readers are probably 
well aware,) in an invaluable volume entitled the " Book of Extracts" — a 
book consisting of selections made by the authority of our yearly meeting, 
from the public acts and advices of that body. To this book a very useful 
and interesting appendix has lately been added. 



312 MORAL VIEWS OF FRIENDS. 

to the same law, may be traced in the peculiar care 
exercised (by means of our meetings for discipline) 
throughout the society in this realm, that the king 
may not be defrauded by any of our members, of 
his customs, duties, or excise ; and that there be no 
using of goods or dealing in them, if they be even 
suspected to be contraband.* The views of Friends 
with respect to the nice honesty which ought ever 
to be observed in trade, are also conspicuously 
strict. Thus, for example, it is a principle univer- 
sally recognised amongst us, that although a trades- 
man who has entered into a composition with his 
creditors, or has been made a bankrupt, may have 
become legally clear of all pecuniary .demands 
against him, he is nevertheless in honour bound, 
whenever the means are in his power, to carry on 
and complete the liquidation of his debts. The 
Quaker who under the circumstances alluded to, 
omits the performance of such a duty, is considered 
by his brethren as a delinquent and a dishonest 
man :f nor is it customary with Friends even for 
the support or education of their poor, to receive 
contributions from any persons who have failed in 

* The following' query is addressed to the preparative, monthly, and 
quarterly, meetings of Friends throughout Great Britain and Ireland, and 
answered by them respectively to their superior meetings, once every year. 
"■Are Friends clear of defrauding the king of his customs, duties, and excise, 
and of using or dealing in goods suspected to be run ?" 

•j- And it is the sense and judgment of this meeting, if any fall short of 
paying their just debts, and a composition is made with their creditors to 
accept a part instead of the whole, that, notwithstanding the parties may 
look upon themselves legally discharg-ed of any obligation to pay the re- 
mainder, yet the principle we profess enjoins full satisfaction to be made, 
if ever the debtors are of ability. And in order that such may the better 
retrieve their circumstances, we exhort them to submit to a manner of liv- 
ing in every respect the most conducive to this purpose. 1759. P. E. See 
Book of Extracts, « Trade," p. 196. § 5, 



MORAL VIEWS OF FRIENDS. 313 

business, until such a liquidation lias been affect- 
ed. 

With reference, secondly, to the christian law of 
mercy, charity, and love, the same high standard 
will be found to prevail in the professed sentiments, 
and to a great extent, in the known history of the 
Society of Friends. On this ground rests, as has 
been already stated, their total abstinence from 
military operations — the care which has prevailed 
among them, from their first origin to the present 
day, to administer no support or encouragement, 
direct or indirect, to the warfare of the world. A 
similar quickness and nicety of apprehension, and 
general clearness of conduct, has been the result of 
their religious principles, with regard to capital 
punishments, the slave trade, and slavery. 

It has long been the usual practice of Friends, at 
whatever cost to their own convenience, to abstain 
from prosecution in such criminal cases, as might 
probably terminate in the death of the persons pro- 
secuted. George Fox, so early as in the middle 
of the seventeenth century, publicly remonstrated 
with the rulers in his day, respecting the cruelty, 
antichristian tendency, and radical injustice of the 
punishment of death, as it is enacted by British law, 
and applied to so many offences of a subordinate 
nature. Since that period, Friends have often de- 
clared their sentiments, and sometimes have ad- 
dressed the authorities of the state on this subject ; 
and in so doing they have abstained from all politi- 
cal views of it, and have grounded their testimony 
against the bloody provisions of our criminal code, 

2 R 



314 MORAL VIEWS OF FRIENDS. 

on the plain and fundamental principles of the gos^ 
pel of Christ. 

The line of conduct which they have followed in 
reference to the slave trade and slavery, is very ge- 
nerally known. Suffice it now to say, that, long 
before those interesting topics successively claimed 
the attention of the christian world in general, the 
sentiments of the society had been both established 
and declared, that the nefarious and abominable 
traffic in men, and also the subsequent holding of 
them in hopeless, cruel, degrading, bondage, are 
utterly inconsistent with the unalienable rights of 
the human race, and still more obviously so with the 
dictates of christian love.* 

It is unnecessary to advert particularly to the 
various efforts which Friends, in unison with other 
christians, have found it their duty to make, with a 
view to the relief of the distressed, and in promotion 
of philanthropic objects ; and I may conclude this 
branch of mv remarks on the moral views of the 
society, by simply calling to the attention of the 
reader, the care which has always been exercised 
by Friends in the support and, education of their 
poor, and in the maintenance of love and harmony 
among all the members of their own body. If any 
Friends fall into poverty and are found to be unable 
to provide for their own wants and those of their 
families, they are not accustomed to avail themselves 
of that parochial aid to which the poor of other de- 
nominations so frequently have recourse ; for it is 

* See Book of Extracts, " Slave Trade and Slavery," p. 177. 



MORAL VIEWS OF FRIENDS. 315 

the uniform practice of the religious Society to 
which they belong, to supply them with such things 
as are needful for their sustenance and comfort. 
A similar care is maintained with respect to the 
education of their children, who, under such cir- 
cumstances, are usually sent to our public semina- 
ries, where they are clothed and fed, and instructed 
both in the elements of useful learning, and in the 
principles of religion. With regard to love and 
harmony among all the members of the body, this 
is a subject which occupies much of private care 
throughout the Society, and on which we are al- 
most annually advised by our yearly meeting ; and 
in order, moreover, that it may never be neglected 
amongst us, our subordinate meetings are called 
upon, three times in every year, to render an ex- 
plicit answer to the following enquiry: "Are Friends 
preserved in love towards each other ; if differences 
arise, is due care taken speedily to end them : and 
are Friends careful to avoid and discourage tale- 
bearing and detraction ? 

Lastly, with respect to a humble walk with God. 
This highly important characteristic of true religion 
is evinced more clearly by nothing, than by a trans- 
formation from the spirit of the world, and by the 
watchful avoidance of the lusts, follies, vices, and 
vanities, so prevalent among unregenerate men. 
" Know ye not," says the apostle James, " that the 
friendship of the world is enmity with God ? Who- 
soever therefore will be a friend of the world, is the 
enemy of God;" James iv. 4. Such a circumspect 
and harmless walk in life is the inevitable conse- 



316 MORAL VIEWS OF FRIENDS. 

quence of that change of heart — that new and hea- 
venly birth — without which no man can be a true 
christian, and will indeed be ever found to distin- 
guish the sincere and diligent followers of Jesus, of 
every name and profession. On the present occa- 
sion I would only remark that no one sect of chris- 
tians of whom I have ever heard, have been led to 
uphold a higher standard than that maintained 
among Friends, respecting the importance of an 
entire abstinence from those customs prevalent in 
the world, which are necessarily impregnated with 
moral evil ; for example, from profuse and extrava- 
gant entertainments — from the unnecessary fre- 
quenting of taverns and public houses — from excess 
in eating and drinking — from public diversions — 
from the reading of useless, frivolous, and perni- 
cious books — from gaming of every description, and 
from vain and injurious sports* — from unnecessa- 
ry display in funerals, furniture, and stjde of liv- 
ing — from unprofitable, seducuve, and dangerous 
amusements — and generally from all such occu- 
pations of time and mind, as plainly tend to levi- 
ty, and forgetfulness of our God and Saviour.t 

* The following extract from one of the printed epistles of our Yearly 
Meeting, is well worthy the attention not only of Friends, but of christians 
of every name; " We clearly rank the practice of hunting and shooting 
for diversion, with vain sports; and we believe the awakened mind may 
see that even the leisure of those whom Providence hath permitted to have 
a competence of worldly goods, is but ill filled up with these amusements. 
Therefore being not only accountable for our substance, but also for our 
time, let our leisure be employed in serving our neighbour, and not in 
distressing the creatures of God for our amusement." Book of Extrads t 
"Conduct and Conversation," p. 25. 

j- There is much reason to fear that some individuals among Friends who 
take a strong view of the inconsistency of worldly vanities, with the pure 
and devotional religion of Christ, have not been equally alive to the ne- 
cessity of avoiding that "coveioiisness which is idolatry." Excluded as we 



MORAL VIEWS OF FRIENDS. 317 

Before we proceed further, I must request the 
candid reader explicitly to understand, that in mak- 
ing the observations which have now been offered, 
on the moral system maintained among Friends, I 
have been very far from any intention to panegy- 
rize the members of that society. On the contra- 
ry, when we consider the high degree of religious 
light which has been so mercifully bestowed upon 

are by our principles from some of "the professions," and appertaining' 
so generally to the middle class of the people, it is very usually our lot to 
be engaged in trade; and such being the case, peculiar watchfulness is 
undoubtedly required in us — even watchfulness unto prayer — that we may 
not be numbered among those whose delight and trust are in riches; for 
truly it remains to be impossible to "serve God and Mammon." How- 
ever reprehensible may be the disposition and conduct of some of us, in 
this important respect, the society to which we belong has not failed, in 
its public advices, to hold out for our instruction a pure standard on the 
subject; as will be amply evinced by the following passages selected from 
the Book of Extracts; See head "Trade" p. 195, et seq. 

1. " Advised that none launch into trading and worldly business, beyond 
what they can manage honourably and with reputation; so that they may 
keep their words with all men, that their yea may prove yea indeed, and 
their nay, nay; and that they use few words in their dealings, lest they 
bring dishonour to the truth." 1688. P. E. — 1675. 

3. "It is earnestly desired that Friends be very careful to avoid all pur- 
suit after the things of this world, by such ways and means as depend too 
much on hazardous enterprises; but rather labour to content themselves 
with such a plain way and manner of living as is most agreeable to the 
self-denying principle of truth which we profess; and which is most con- 
ducive to that tranquillity of mind which is requisite to a religious conduct 
through this troublesome world." 1724. P. E. — 1801. 

7. " Dear Friends, the continuance of covetousness and of earthly-mind- 
edness in many, calls upon us to endeavour to awaken such as are infect- 
ed by it, to a sense of what they are pursuing, and at what price. The 
great Master hath shown the unprofitableness of the whole world, com- 
pared with one immortal soul; and yet many are pursuing a delusive por- 
tion of it, at the expense of their soul's interests. But were all thus 
awakened, what place would be found for extensive schemes in trade, 
and fictitious credit to support them ? To mix with the spirit of the 
world, in the pursuit of gain, would then be a subject of dread; and con- 
tentment under the allotment of Providence, a sure means of preserva- 
tion." 1788. P. E. 

8. " Circumscribed even as we are more than many, it is not unusual in 
our pursuit of the things of this life, for our gain and our convenience to 
clash with our testimony. O then may we be willing to pause, and give 
time for those passions to subside, which would hurry us to the accom- 
plishment of the desired purpose, ere the still voice of wisdom be distinct- 
ly heard, to guide us in the way in which we should go ! 1795. P. E. 



3 IB MORAL VIEWS OP FRIENDS. 

us, and the clear views into which we have been 
led of the spirituality of the gospel dispensation, 
we may readily confess that, in the inadequacy and 
shortness of our good works, we have peculiar 
cause for sorrow and humiliation. Nevertheless, 
the known views of the society, and the general 
conduct of many of its members, may be sufficient 
to evince that our religious principles have an edi- 
fying tendency. It is then to the practical efficacy 
of those principles, that I am desirous of inviting a 
more general and a closer attention, and especially 
to the unspeakable value and power of that word 
of God in the heart — that law of the Lord inward- 
ly revealed — which it is so much our profession 
to follow, and which, as it is followed, will never 
fail to detect for us the peccant part in the vain 
customs of men, and to lead us into the true, 
and pure, and solid excellence of the christian cha^ 
racter. 

Having again insisted upon this point, I may now 
proceed to discuss a subject to which it will be de- 
sirable to allot the remainder of the present disqui- 
sition, viz. plainness of speech, behaviour, and appa- 
rel This plainness is one of the most obvious of 
our characteristics. Whithersoever we bend our 
steps, and in whatever business we are engaged, it 
continually meets the eye or the ear of those among 
whom we dwell, and manifests itself in a variety of 
particulars, which, though little, are striking. But 
obvious and constantly perceptible as are these mi- 
nor features of our conduct and conversation, there is 
reason to believe that the grounds on which we 



MORAL VIEWS OF FRIENDS. 139 

have adopted them are by no means generally un- 
derstood: and indeed the laxity apparent in so 
many individuals of our own body, with respect to 
these peculiarities, affords a strong presumption, 
that the principles from which they spring have 
not been sufficiently considered even amongst our- 
selves. It is a prevalent notion in the world, and 
one which many young persons in the society have 
probably been led to entertain, that the peculiari- 
ties in question are employed only because of their 
expediency, and that they are to be regarded in no 
other light than that of a sectarian badge, intended 
for the purpose of distinguishing and separating us 
from the rest of mankind. In treating then, on the 
peculiar plainness of Friends — a subject which, ac- 
cording to my view, is fraught with no little inter- 
est — I shall endeavour to show that our practice in 
this respect is by no means adopted merely because 
it is considered expedient ; but that, on the contra- 
ry, it is truly grounded on the law of God ; — that, 
in point of fact, it is one result (perfectly consistent 
with others already mentioned) of a complete view 
of christian morality. 

I. PLAINNESS OF SPEECH. 

The phraseology which prevails in the modern 
world, and, with the exception of Friends, among 
christians of all denominations, is replete with a 
variety of expressions, used either in addressing or 
describing persons, which are of a nature simply 
complimentary, and have no foundation in truth. 



320 PLAINNESS OF SPEECH. 

The terms to which I allude are familiar to every- 
one, but for the sake of clearness, the principal of 
them may now be specified. 

The words Sir or Madam are very generally em- 
ployed, both in speech and in writing, as a form of 
address ; and of written addresses, to any individual, 
one of these words almost uniformly forms the com- 
mencement. He who makes use of such terms, 
verbally professes that the person to whom he is 
speaking or writing, is his lord or his lady. Such, 
I conceive to be the generally acknowledged mean- 
ing of the expressions in question ; for the word 
Sir is obviously a contraction of the French term 
Seigneur, Lord* and Madam, also derived from 
the French, plainly signifies My lady. This verbal 
profession of subjection to the individual addressed 
is frequently completed by a declaration, very usual 
at the conclusion of letters, that the writer is the 
humble or obedient servant or most humble or most 
obedient servant of the person to whom he writes ; 
and among foreigners, more particularly, expres- 
sions to the same effect are accumulated with a pro- 
fuseness which renders the art of complimenting 
conspicuously ridiculous. 

Precisely on a similar principle the man is de- 
nominated Mister, the boy, Master, the married wo- 
man, Mistress, and the unmarried woman, Miss — 
being the same term contracted. These expres- 

* Johnson derives Sir from the French Sire, an expression denoting the 
rank and authority of a father,- but when we consider the use of the 
French word Monsieur, and the easy transition from Seigneur to Sieur, and 
from Sieur to Sir, little doubt can remain that the latter is the true origin 
of the English term. 



PLAINNESS OF SPEECH. 321 

sions severally denote, that the persons to whom 
they are applied, are placed in a situation of author- 
ity or mastery over others, and, if I mistake not, 
more particularly over the individual by whom the 
terms in question are employed. They, therefore, 
represent that which is by way of compliment sup- 
posed, but which, generally speaking, is neverthe- 
less untrue. 

Again, by a similar abuse of language, epithets 
expressive of a high degree of personal excellence 
are applied pro forma, and worthily or unworthily, 
(as it may happen,) to a number of individuals who 
hold certain offices, or enjoy particular stations, in 
religious or civil society. Thus, whatever be their 
real character — whatever their conduct and conver- 
sation, either in public or in private life — a king is 
his most gracious Majesty — a duke, his Grace — a 
peer of another rank, and a member of the privy 
council, Right Honourable — a son of a peer, and a 
judge, Honourable — an archbishop, Most Reverend 
— a bishop, Right Reverend — a dean,F<?ry Reverend 
— an arch-deacon, Venerable — a priest or deacon, 
Reverend. Similar terms are often applied in the 
loose extravagance of compliment, to other indivi- 
duals who are destitute both of office and of high 
station. Those who are acquainted with the lan- 
guage and manners of the Italians, must be well 
aware, for example, how frequently and indiscrimi- 
nately they employ their illustrissimo and excellen- 
za. In the common parlance of Spain, every gen- 
tleman is addressed as Your Worship; and in this 
country, persons of no peculiar virtue or eminence 

2s 



322 PLAINNESS OF SPEECH. 

are often represented, at the conclusion of letters 
which they receive, as being so honourable, that 
it is an honour to be their most humble servants. 
Again, among modern Latin critics, a member of 
their own fraternity, however obscure, is seldom, if 
ever, mentioned without the passing declaration 
that he is most celebrated. So common is become 
the celeberrimus on such occasions, that it is now re- 
duced into the particle eel. and is in this shape pre- 
fixed to the name of every writer of the description 
now mentioned, almost as regularly as is the Eng- 
lish contraction Mr. to those of other men. Not 
unfrequently indeed, do these authors attach to the 
name of any brother critic whom they may happen 
to cite, a Greek term which may be considered 
the very consummation of complimentary phrase- 
ology; for it denotes nothing less than that the 
writer cited is entirely excellent, or that he com- 
prehends in his own person a universality of learn- 
ing and talent* 

In Great Britain, as in other civilized states, there 
are a variety of legal dignities, corresponding with 
certain situations in the body politic, and constitut- 
ing what is usually denominated rank. The lowest 
of these dignities is that of an Esquire, which legal- 
ly appertains to many individuals, and especially to 
all those persons who hold any office or commis- 
sion under the king. Now the world appears to 
imagine that the possession of some title or other is 
indispensable to the character of a gentleman; and 
therefore by a falsification of speech, perfectly similar 



#» 



PLAINNESS OF SPEECH. 323 

in principle to those already noticed, every person of 
gentlemanlike station in life, who is destitute of all 
legal dignity, is denominated an Esquire. The gen- 
tleman to whom a letter is directed without the ad- 
dition of that title, is considered in the world to be 
almost affronted by the omission. 

But among the various modes of expression upon 
which it is my present object to treat, the most 
common and at the same time most absurd, is the 
application to individuals, of pronouns and verbs in 
the plural number. The use of the plural form of 
the first personal pronoun, instead of the singular, 
is commonly adopted in their public rescripts and 
other documents, by monarchs, and sometimes by 
other persons placed in a situation of high authori- 
ty. The common style of a royal mandate or de- 
claration is as follows: 'We George,' or ' We Fred- 
erick,' or < We William, command or declare,' 
&c. ; and the fiction which such a form of speech 
represents, appears to be precisely this— that the 
monarch is not to be regarded as an individual, but 
as many persons combined — that in that single man 
are centred the authority, wisdom, dignity, and pow- 
er, of many. Since this rhetorical fiction is thus 
employed by powerful and exalted personages, as 
a mark of their superior dignity and authority, it 
easily became a matter of compliment among men 
in general, to apply it in their addresses one to an- 
other. Such a custom, in its early commencement, 
was probably adopted only as a mark of respect to 
superiors ; and unquestionably for a long period of 
time, it found no place in addresses made to infe- 



324 PLAINNESS OP SPEECH. 

riors. But even this distinction is gradually wear- 
ing away ; a form of speech which was at one time 
a mark of distinction, is become universally fami- 
liar: the Thou and Thee, in the daily communica- 
tions between man and man, are disused ; and eve- 
ry individual as if supposed to consist of several 
persons combined, is addressed with plural pronouns 
and plural verbs.* 

Now we apprehend that our heavenly Guide, 
whose Spirit is expressly denominated the " Spirit 
of truth," and whose will is directly opposed to all 
unrighteous vanities, of whatsoever magnitude and 
description they may be, has taught us in our com- 
munications one with another, and with our fellow- 
men, to abstain from the use of these various compli- 
mentary fictions. The substitution of a plain mode 
of expression, in the place of one so nearly univer- 
sal, has indeed the effect of rendering us singular; 
and the singularity which is thus occasioned, and 
which sometimes entails upon us ridicule and con- 
tempt, is often in no slight degree mortifying to the 
natural inclinations, especially to those of the young 
and tender mind. Nevertheless, we are persuaded 
that this is one of the particulars of conduct, in 
which, however trifling the subject may appear to 
some persons, a duty is laid upon us to deny our- 
selves, patiently to endure the cross, and faithfully 
to bear our testimony against the customs preva- 

* In Germany the art of complimentary phraseology is carried to a very 
high point. The German in addressing his superiors or his equals, is not 
content with the commonly received use of the plural pronouns and verbs, 
but for the sake of manifesting a yet more profound deference and respect, 
recites them in the third person. Thus instead of "Wilt thou eat or 
drink ?" he would say to his honoured gujest " Will they eat or drink ?V 



PLAINNESS OF SPEECH. 325 

lent in the world at large. It is plain, according to 
our view of the subject, that the common^ mode of 
speech from which we have thus been led to ab- 
stain, is at variance with certain acknowledged and 
important principles in the divine law. Such a 
phraseology may very fairly be deemed objection- 
able,^^/, because it is intended to flatter the pride 
of man: and secondly ', because it is inconsistent 
with truth. \ 

I. It was one of the charges which oujf Saiiour 
adduced against the unbelieving Jews, tlpt they 
received honour " one of another," and sought not 
" the honour which cometh from God only "yohi\ v. 
44; and truly, a similar character is still ver^ gene- 
rally prevalent among men. While they neglect to 
strive after that true "glory" which is the eid of a 
"patient continuance in well doing," Rom. ii. 7 ; 
there is nothing in the pursuit of which th^y are 
more generally intent, than the honour of thejworld 
— the honour which is bestowed by man. To be 
exalted among our fellow-creatures, to receive the 
tribute of their homage and the incense of their 
flattery, to be the objects of their eulogium and po- 
lite submission, are circumstances perfectly adapted 
to the pride of our own hearts, and grateful beyond 
almost any other worldly advantages, to the natu- 
ral disposition of the human mind. Here it maj 7 be 
observed that the eager desire to be thus exalted, 
admired and commended, is closely and almost in- 
separably connected (though perhaps in somewhat 
a hidden manner) with a spirit of undue fear, de- 
pendence, and subserviency, in reference to our 



326 PLAINNESS OF SPEECH. 

fellow-men. And this probably is the reason why 
those persons who are themselves the most desirous 
of receiving adulation, are often the most ready to 
bestow it. There appears to exist, among the chil- 
dren of this evil world, a sort of understood conven- 
tion, that the} r shall praise and be praised, shall ex- 
alt and be exalted, shall natter and be flattered. 

Amongst the various means which mankind have 
invented in order to effect this object, and to grati- 
fy their own antichristian dispositions to adulation 
on the one hand, and to pride on the other, is evi- 
dently to be numbered the complimentary phrase- 
ology to which we have now been adverting. We. 
read that the worldly-minded Pharisees who loved 
the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats 
in the synagogues, loved also the "greetings in the 
markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi;" 
Matt, xxiii. 6, 7. Since, therefore, the use of the 
expressions in question proceeds from a corrupt 
source, and is plainly intended to foster the vain 
desires of the carnal mind, it may reasonably be 
concluded that a total abstinence from such a mode 
of speech is not only commendable and desirable, 
but necessary to a complete conformity with the 
divine law. 

It is needless on the present occasion to cite the 
numerous passages of Scripture, and more especial- 
ly of the New Testament, which forbid the exalta- 
tion of the creature, and enjoin humility and self- 
abasement. One passage alone will suffice, in 
which our Lord insists on this branch of the divine 
law in immediate connexion, as it appears, with the 



PLAINNESS OF SPEECH. 327 

subject of the present section. When charging the 
Pharisees with pride, and with their love of being 
called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi, he adds the following 
emphatic injunction, addressed to his own followers; 
"But be not ye called Rabbi; for one is your mas- 
ter, even Christ, and all ye are brethren. And call 
no man your Father upon the earth (namely as a 
complimentary title;) for one is your Father, which 
is in heaven. Neither be ye called Masters; for one 
is your Master, even Christ. But he that is great- 
est among you, shall be your servant. And whoso- 
ever shall exalt himself, shall be abased; and he 
that shall humble himself, shall be exalted ;" Matt, 
xxiii. 8 — 12. This instructive passage of Scrip- 
ture may be regarded in two points of view. We 
may allow, in the first place, that it indirectly incul- 
cates the general doctrine, that, in matters of reli- 
gion, christians are not to depend upon the teaching 
and authority of their fellow-men, but rather upon 
those of the Father and of Christ. They must, in 
this respect, be careful to set up neither themselves 
nor others. They must ever remember that they 
have individually cause for deep humiliation ; that 
they are all brethren ; that one is their Father, even 
God; that one is their Master, even Christ. And, 
secondly, the use of merely formal and compliment- 
ary appellations, as one of the means by which men 
are accustomed to exalt themselves and others — 
a means which had been so eagerly adopted by the 
Scribes and Pharisees — is, in this passage, forbid- 
den to the followers of Christ. The complimentary 
titles here mentioned by our Saviour, viz. RabbU 



328 PLAINNESS OF SPEECH. 



Father, and Master, were at that period, of very 
late origin.* In the better times of Israelitish his- 
tory,jas some of the Jews themselves. confess, no 
such corruption of speech was known; for the 
patriarchs, the prophets, and even the earliest doc- 
tors of the Rabbinical schools, were called and ad- 
dressed by their simple names. But as the Jews 
gradually departed from their ancient simplicity, 
and shortly before the coming of our Saviour, their 
leading men of learning and authority, claimed the 
distinction of these nattering appellations; and if, 
perchance, any of their disciples addressed them 
according to that simple method which was usual 
in better times, it was even pretended that such 
persons offended against the majesty of heaven. In 
the discourse of which the passage before us forms 
a part, our Lord sharply reproves the Scribes and 
Pharisees on account of their attachment to so ab- 
surd and ungodly a practice — an attachment which 
he mentions as one among many fruits of their vani- 
ty, pride, and presumption; and then turning round 
to his own disciples, he distinctly forbids them to 
assume for themselves, or to apply to others, the 
complimentary titles in question; shewing that the 
formal use of such expressions is at variance with 

♦The Greek words §*$$/ or (f/JW*a\o?, ttath^ and k*0»}.»t»?, as Lightfoot 
has observed, represent respectively .the Hebrew terms tj-i (honourable 
person,) >qn (father,) and no (master;) expressions which appear to have 
been used at the christian era, in the same formal and complimentary man- 
ner, as are the terms Sir, my Lord, your grace, &,c. in the present day. In 
older to recommend those titles, one of the Talmudic authors pretends that 
king- Jehosaphat made much point of employing- them in addressing any 
scribe. « Whenever Jehosaphat," says this author," saw a disciple of the 
wise men, he rose from his throne, embraced him, kissed him, and thus ad- 
dressed him, Father, Father; Rabbi, Rabbi; Master, Master." Babyl. 
Maccoth. fol xxiv. I. Lightfoot 



PLAINNESS OF SPEECH. 329 

the true condition of those persons who are children 
and disciples of one Lord, and whose duty and 
privilege it is to humble themselves before God, 
and to serve one another for his sake; See Light- 
foot Hor. Heb. in loc, Poli $y?i. It may indeed be 
observed, that the Scribes and Pharisees probably 
claimed these verbal distinctions, as marks of their 
religions superiority ; and that the expressions of 
the same nature which are now so common, have a 
more general application. But whether such ex- 
pressions are addressed to clergy or to laity, wheth- 
er they are intended as compliments to the minis- 
ters of the church, or to the members of society at 
large, they are still equally objectionable, on our 
Lord's principle of christian simplicity and humility. 
They are still derived from the pride of man, and 
still do they foster the passion from which they 
spring. 

Our Lord's precept on this subject was remark- 
ably exemplified both in his own conversation and 
in the verbal or written communications of his in- 
spired disciples. The mode of address which he 
employed, and which the evangelists and apostles 
also adopted, though in many instances distinguish- 
ed for its kindness an % d true courtesy, was not less 
remarkable for its plainness, and for the absence of 
all complimentary phraseology. I know of nothing 
in the New Testament which has the appearance 
of contravening this observation, unless it be the 
epithets Most excellent and Most noble; the former 
applied by Luke to Theophilus, Luke i. 3 ; the lat- 
ter by Paul to Festus, Acts xxvi. 25; and also the 

2 T 



330 PLAINNESS OF SPEECH. 

title, Sirs, by which that apostle is represented as 
addressing the inhabitants of Lystra, and the com- 
panions of his voyage to Rome; Acts xiv. 15, xxvii. 
10, 21, 25. comp. vii. 26. But in all these instances 
our common English version is in fault, and there 
is no reason to suppose that the expressions, as 
used in the original Greek, were in any degree mis- 
applied. The Greek adjective* which in Luke i. 
3, is rendered most excellent, and in Acts xxvi. 25, 
most noble, properly denotes neither excellence nor 
nobility, but an eminent degree of power. The 
epithet was probably not inapplicable to Theophi- 
lus, of whom we know almost nothing, but who 
from the use of this very word, is supposed by com- 
mentators to have been the governor of some pro- 
vince; and certainly it was properly descriptive of 
Festus, who as proconsul of Judea was, in that 
county, possessed of the supreme authorit}^; See 
Schleusneri Lex. in voc. With respect to the ap- 
pellation rendered Sirs, in Acts xiv. 15, xxvii. 10, 
21, 25, it signifies not lords or masters, but simply 
men. The term used in these passages, is not in- 
deed the generic name of man. It is applicable on- 
ly to the male sex, and inasmuch as it represented 
the strength and manliness of that sex, it was pro- 
bably considered as a term of respect. Neverthe- 
less it described literal truth, and was therefore no 
complimenta^ expression. 

I have often thought that the speeches of Paul to 
Felix and Agrippa, afford an excellent specimen of 
the true christian method of addressing our supe- 

* rewrite;. 






PLAINNESS OF SPEECH. 331 

riors, for they are distinguished by respectful cour- 
tesy united to entire plainness. "Forasmuch as I 
know," said he to Felix, "that thou hast of many 
years been a judge unto this nation, I do the more 
cheerfully answer for myself:" again, "I think my- 
self happy, king Agrippa, because I shall answer 
for myself this day before thee, touching all the 
things whereof I am accused of the Jews : especial- 
ly because I know thee to be expert in all customs 
and questions which are among the Jews, where- 
fore I beseech thee to hear me patiently:" again, 
"King Agrippa, believest thou the prophets? I 
know that thou believest," &c. To these speeches 
we may find an excellent parallel, in point both of 
propriety and of plainness, in the public addresses 
which have at various times been made by Friends 
to high and royal personages; and more particular- 
ly in Robert Barclay's celebrated dedication of his 
"Apology" to king Charles II. 

II. It has been already remarked, that in this 
country as in most other civilized states, there are 
a variety of titles legally attached to persons who 
occupy particular offices or stations in the body 
politic. To the use of these titles there does not 
appear to be any moral objection. There is no 
good reason, as is generally allowed b}^ Friends, 
why Kings, Earls, Barons, Baronets, Esquires, &e. 
should not in the conversation or letters of chris- 
tians be so denominated, since these are not names 
of mere courtesy, but are given in conformity with 
the constitution of the country, and appropriately 
represent the office or condition of the persons who 



332 PLAINNESS OF SPEECH. 

bear them. Nor ought the servant to feel the least re- 
serve or hesitation in calling his master Master, and 
his mistress Mistress. So far indeed is it from be- 
ing inconsistent with christian principle, to describe 
our fellow-creatures by the denominations which 
properly belong to them, and which correctly repre- 
sent their actual situation, that such a practice may 
rather be deemed to be enjoined by the apostolic 
precept— " Render to all their dues ;" Rom. xiii. 7. 
But to those various complimentary expressions 
from the use of which Friends consider it to be 
their duty to abstain, there is, on the other hand, 
this radical objection, that according to their gene- 
ral usage, and in a great plurality of instances, they 
represent falsehood. To call a man Sir or Master, 
who has no authority over us — to declare ourselves 
to be his obedient servants, when we know that we 
are no such thing — to style him, as a matter of 
course, honourable or reverend, when as a matter 
of course he is neither one nor the other, and to de- 
scribe him as most celebrated, though he be desti- 
tute of all celebrity — is in our apprehension to de- 
part from that plain law of truth, by which the 
words of christians ought ever to be strictly regu- 
lated. That truth of speech which in the Holy 
Scriptures is opposed to the lying tongue, and is 
so frequently, so clearly, and so earnestly enjoined, 
obviously consists in the honest and accurate con- 
formity of our words (according to their acknow- 
ledged signification) to facts and realities. Since 
then these complimentary expressions are not hon- 
estly and accurately conformed to facts and reali- 



PLAINNESS OF SPEECH. 33$ 

ties ; since, according to their commonty received 
meaning, they denote feelings, dispositions, or rela- 
tions, in those who use them, which have no exist- 
ence ; they may justly be considered inconsistent 
with a simple and unbending veracity. 

Persons are sometimes heard to remark that the 
expressions in question are not to be understood 
literally — that those of them which appear to ex- 
press subjection, are to be interpreted as indicative 
only of civility — that their signification is either 
lessened or lost — that they may even be considered 
as meaning nothing — and hence it is easily con- 
cluded, that the formal use of such terms involves 
no sacrifice of truth. But the reflecting reader will 
scarcely fail to detect the fallacy of these observa- 
tions. There are none of the expressions in ques- 
tion, which on philological principles can fairly be 
interpreted in a subordinate sense. Used as they 
are in a familiar manner as current tokens of re- 
spect, it is evident that they serve such a purpose 
only because of their intrinsic meaning ; and that 
intrinsic meaning is, I would submit, undisputed 
and unaltered. So far indeed are some of these 
terms from being of uncertain application, or desti- 
tute of signification, that there are scarcely any 
words in language, of which the sense is more ob- 
vious, or more clearly fixed. Who does not know, 
for example, that a humble and obedient servant is 
a person of lowly mind and servile condition, who 
obeys his master — that an honourable or reverend 
individual is an individual truly worthy of honour 
or reverence — that a most celebrated or most illus- 



334 PLAINNESS OF SPEECH. 

trious author, is an author who has attained to a 
very pre-eminent degree of literary fame — and that 
the plural personal pronouns denote a plurality of 
persons ? The meaning of such terms is plain and 
cannot be disputed; and all that can be urged on 
the other side of the question, will probably be 
found to resolve itself into a single position, viz. 
that the falsehoods which these expressions repre- 
sent are so customary, that they are become ineffica- 
cious — that they no longer deceive. That this effect 
has in a very considerable degree taken place, may 
readily be admitted ; but such a result affords no 
sufficient excuse for the adoption of such a mode 
of speech. It may justly be contended, that the 
use of words, which according to their known sig- 
nification represent things untrue, constitutes a 
falsehood — that however absurd or unavailing that 
falsehood may be, it is nevertheless real — that such 
a practice arises out of an evil origin — that it is in 
its nature evil — and that however it may defeat its 
own ends, and become inoperative in proportion to 
its prevalence, it can never change its character, or 
cease to be inconsistent with an exact obedience 
to the law of Christ. 

To the sincere-hearted christian, who has hither- 
to perceived no evil in the use of a complimentary 
phraseology, may in conclusion be addressed the 
remark, that there are various degrees of insincerity, 
and that the passage from the lesser to the greater 
measures of it, is exceedingly easy. He who has 
no scruple, for example, to declare himself (without 
any foundation in literal truth) to be the humble, 



PLAINNESS OF SPEECH. 335 

obedient, or devoted servant of the person whom he 
addresses, is in danger, as it appears to me, of ad- 
vancing a step farther, and of making other less 
formal professions of civility or service, which he is 
equally without the intention of fulfilling. Thus 
his sense of truth is gradually weakened ; his feel- 
ings and intentions, and the words by which he ex- 
presses them, become more and more dissonant, 
and at length his communications assume the cha- 
racter of insincerity in so great a degree, that our 
dependence upon them for practical purposes is 
very materially shaken. Scarcely any one, who is 
conversant with the business of the world, can fail to 
have remarked how easily these consequences re- 
sult from the sacrifice, however formal, of literal 
truth. It may indeed be admitted, that this obser- 
vation will not apply, in any great degree, to the 
more common and less conspicuous terms of com- 
pliment; but all these expressions are of the same 
nature, they appertain to the same principle, they 
spring from the same source, and they naturally 
lead to one another. On the whole, therefore, it 
may fairly be concluded that the line of true safety, 
in reference to the present subject, must be drawn 
at the foundation of the whole system, and must 
preclude the use, in conversation and addresses, of 
any expressions which are merely complimentary, 
and which, according to their plain and acknow- 
ledged meaning, represent any falsity. 

There is another particular connected with the 
plainness of speech peculiar to Friends, of which a 
very brief notice will be sufficient. It is their prac- 



336 PLAINNESS OF SPEECH. 

tice, as my reader is probably well aware, to avoid 
the commonly adopted names of months and days, 
and to indicate those periods by numerical appella- 
tions, according to the order of their succession : as 
the first, second, or third month, the first, second, or 
third day, fyc. Their reason for making this alter- 
ation is simple and forcible. All the days of the 
week and many of the months of the year have re- 
ceived the names by which they are usually des- 
cribed, in honour of false gods. Thus January is 
the month of Janus, Thursday the day of Thor, &c. 
This relic of heathenism is not only needless and 
indecorous, but, according to our sentiments, is op- 
posed to the tenor and spirit, as well as to the letter 
of those divine commandments, addressed to the 
Israelites, which forbade the use of the names of false 
gods, and every other the slightest approach to 
idolatrous practices ; see Exod. xxiii. 13, Josh, xxiii. 
7. comp. Deut. xii. 3, Ps. xvi. 4, &c. Idolatry was 
indeed a sin which easily beset that ancient people, 
and to which, in the present enlightened state of 
society, christians are but little tempted. But it 
will scarcely be denied that the various precepts 
contained in the Old Testament, on the subject, 
form a part of that law which changes not ; and that 
the standard of truth in this particular was elevated 
rather than lowered by the introduction of the gos- 
pel dispensation. Although, therefore, we may now 
be in little or no danger of falling away into the 
worship of false gods, it appears that the mainten- 
ance of a custom which had its origin in such wor- 
ship, and by which a verbal honour is still given to 



PLAINNESS OP BEHAVIOUR. 337 

ideal deities or to devils, is inconsistent with the 
pure piety and unmixed devotion of the simple 
christian.* 

II. PLAINNESS OP BEHAVIOUR. 

The more consistent part of the Society of Friends 
consider it to be their duty to uphold the standard 
of plainness not only in speech, but in manners, de- 
portment, or behaviour. Their general views on 
this branch of our subject, are in full accordance 
with those of all the humble followers of a crucified 
Redeemer. Where is the seriously minded chris- 
tian who will not allow, that servility, vanity, and 
affectation in manners, afford a sure indication of a 
worldly spirit, and of a heart not yet converted from 
darkness to light ; and on the other hand, that a true 
simplicity in our carriage towards other men, whe- 
ther they be our inferiors, our equals, or our supe- 
riors, is one of the most genuine ornaments of the 
christian character? 

There is also another constituent of plainness in 
behaviour, respecting which Friends are on common 
ground with other christians ; I mean the absence 
of levity — religious seriousness. An innocent and 
wholesome cheerfulness is far indeed from being 
precluded by the law of Christ : for what persons 
have so true an acquaintance with pure pleasure as 

* May it not be considered in some degree discreditable to the religious 
profession of our country, that the votes of the British Parliament, passed 
as they are after the daily recitation of prayers addressed to the ever blessed 
Jehovah in the name of Christ, should, when printed, uniformly bear about 
thera the stamp of classical heathenism? These documents are dated in 
Latin; *' Die Veneris, Quarto Mart is ,- Die Mercurii, Secundo Julii" &c, 

2 u 



338 PLAINNESS OF BEHAVIOUR. 

those upon whom are shining the beams of the Son 
of Righteousness ; or who are so much at ease and 
liberty to enjoy themselves, as they who have obey- 
ed the calls of duty, and have trodden the path of 
the cross? While this allowance may be made 
without reserve, it is perhaps no less evident that 
a lightness and wantonness of manner, and an ill 
regulated, extravagant, mirth, are totally at variance 
with the great features of the christian life. No 
one surely will be found to indulge in them, who 
entertains any adequate notions of the importance 
of his moral condition, of the great purposes for 
which he is called into being, of the immortality of 
his soul, and of the terrors and hopes respectively 
set before him in the christian revelation. 

Having made these observations on that simple 
and serious deportment which all real christians en- 
deavour to maintain, I may proceed to remark that 
there are certain particulars of conduct and manners, 
in which Friends observe a plainness of behaviour, 
in a great degree peculiar to themselves. We con- 
ceive it to be our duty to abstain from the use of 
those obeisances, upon which, in the world and more 
especially in the upper classes of society, a scrupu- 
lous attention is very generally bestowed. In pre- 
senting ourselves before our fellow-creatures, we 
believe it right to avoid the submissive inflexion of 
the body and the taking off of the hat, as a token of 
personal homage. 

The principles on which is founded our objection 
to these practices, are in part the same as those 
which have been stated under the last head. The 



PLAINNESS OF BEHAVIOUR. 339 

bowing down of the body and the pulling off of the 
hat in honour of man, are actions perfectly coinci- 
dent with a servile and complimentary phraseology. 
Words in the one case, and actions in the other, are 
obviously intended to denote the same thing ; name- 
ly, that the person addressing submits himself to the 
superior dignity and authority of the person ad- 
dressed. Whether then it be by our expressions 
or by our carriage that we cherish and foment the 
vanity one of another — whether the complimentary 
falsehood be spoken or acted — we cannot but enter- 
tain the sentiment, that in adopting, in either way, 
the customs prevalent in the world, we should be 
departing from that simplicity and godly sincerity 
by which our conversation among men ought ever 
to be regulated. 

There is, however, another reason, and that a rea- 
son of a very substantial nature, why Friends con- 
ceive it to be their duty to avoid some of these 
obeisances ; namely, that they are the very signs by 
which christians are accustomed to denote their al- 
legiance to the Almighty himself. This is general- 
ly understood to be the case more particularly, with 
the taking off of the hat as a mark of homage — a 
practice usual among Friends, as well as among 
other christians, on certain occasions of a religious 
nature. When we approach God in supplication, or 
address others in his name, we uniformly take off 
the hat, and kneel or stand uncovered before him. 
It is probable that in every age of the world, there 
have been certain customary external indications of 
the worship of Jehovah ; and this undoubtedly is one 



340 PLAINNESS OF BEHAVIOUR. 

of those indications in the present day. The action 
in itself is absolutely indifferent, but through the 
force of custom it has become significant — signifi- 
cant of religious homage offered to the supreme 
Being. Now we consider it to be inconsistent with 
that reverence which is exclusively due to the Dei- 
ty, and hold that it involves a very dangerous con- 
fusion, to address to our fellow-creatures, however 
exalted they may be, those very acts which, on other 
occasions, denote nothing less than the worship of 
Him, who "bringeth the princes to nothing, and 
maketh the judges of the earth as vanity." 

Such are the principles which have given rise to 
one of the most conspicuous peculiarities in the de- 
portment of the plain Quaker. It is generally 
known that when a person of this description ap- 
proaches even the earthly monarch to whom he 
both owes and feels a real allegiance, he dares not 
either to bend the knee or to uncover the head, in 
token of that allegiance ; and for this plain and, as 
it appears to me, fully sufficient reason, that these 
are the very outward signs by which he is accus- 
tomed to designate his submissive approaches to 
the Lord of Lords, and the King of Kings — the 
God and Father of us all. 

In bearing this testimony against the semi-idola- 
trous practices of the world, I cannot but consider 
it plain that Friends are acting in conformity with 
the divine law, which while it forbids us either to 
flatter or deceive our neighbours, is, if possible, still 
more imperative as to the restriction of the acknow- 
ledged acts of worship, to their only proper object — 



PLAINNESS OF BEHAVIOUR. 311 

Jehovah. "All these things will I give thee," said 
the tempter to Jesus, "if thou wilt/fl// down and 
worship me ; # Then saith Jesus unto him, "Get thee 
hence Satan, for it is written, Thou strait worshipt 
the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve;" 
Matt. iv. 9, 10. 

The prostration of the body on the ground (like 
the taking off of the hat, or kneeling, among modern 
Europeans) was one of those tokens by which the 
ancient inhabitants of the east were accustomed to 
designate worship, whether that worship was ad- 
dressed as homage to their superiors among men, 
or as religious adoration to the Deity himself; and 
the Greek verb, signifying to worship, literally im- 
ports such a prostration. Had that divine mandate 
which our Saviour quoted in answer to the tempter, 
been fully observed by the Israelites of old, they 
would surely have confined these obeisances to the 
Lord himself; and their not having so confined 
them appears to afford one proof among many, that 
even the more enlightened of their number Fell 
short of a just apprehension of the extent and per- 
fection of the law of God t But that a confusion so 
dangerous in tie application of such obeisances, is, 
under the purer light of the gospel dispensation, 
strictty precluded, the history of the New Testa- 
ment affords satisfactory evidence. We find from 
the records of that sacred volume, that the prostra- 
tion of the body on the ground was an act frequent- 
ly employed by christians, in the worship of the 
Father, I. Cor. xiv. 25, Rev. vii. 11, &c and also in 



342 PLAINNESS OF BEHAVIOUR. 

that of the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the Son of God, 
participating in the Father's nature, and one with 
him ; Matt, xi v. 33, John ix. 38. It was, I think, plain- 
ly for this reason, that Jesus never refused to receive 
such a homage : but no sooner was it addressed to the 
creature, than it called forth the just and earnest 
reprehension of the Lord's servants. Two instances 
of this kind are recorded in the New Testament. 
When the apostle Peter was coming into the house 
of Cornelius, the latter " met him, and fell down at 
his feet, and worshipped him (or prostrated himself 
before him :) but Peter took him up, saying Stand 
up, I myself also am a man;" Acts. x. 25, 26. So 
again in the book of Revelation, we read that the 
apostle John, greatly smitten, as we may presume, 
with the glory of the angel who showed him the 
vision, fell down at his feet " to worship him" or 
to prostrate himself before him. Yet the angel 
earnestly forbade his doing so — "See thou do it not" 
said he, " I am thy fellow servant, and of thy breth- 
ren that have the testimony of Jesus; ivorship God;" 
Rev. xix. 10. 

It cannot with any reason be supposed, that the 
act of reverence addressed by Cornelius to Peter, 
and by John to the ministering angel, was, in either 
case, intended as a sign of spiritual worship. Cor- 
nelius, who was a devout man, redeemed from the 
errors of idolatry, and taught to live in the fear of 
the Lord, could never for a moment have entertain- 
ed the notion, that Peter was to be adored as a god ; 
nor is there any real probability in the supposition, 
that the apostle John, after having been favoured 



PLAINNESS OP BEHAVIOUR. 343 

with so repeated a vision of the glory both of the 
Father and of the Son, should mistake for either of 
them that messenger of Christ, who was appointed 
for the bare purpose of shelving him these things; 
Rev. xxii. 8. We may conclude, therefore, that 
this act of reverence, as employed by Cornelius and 
the apostle, was, like the obeisances of the present 
day, directed solely to the purpose of evincing hu- 
miliation and subjection in the presence of a supe- 
rior. Nevertheless, since it was otherwise used as 
a sign of religious adoration, it was, on both these 
occasions, strenuously forbidden, on that main and 
simple principle of religion, that God alone is the 
object of worship. Now this principle appears to be 
applied with equal propriety, in prohibition of the 
modern and perfectly analogous practices of kneel- 
ing and uncovering the head, as tokens of our ho- 
mage to men. 

In the observations which have now been offered 
on plainness of speech and behaviour, I have been 
very far from any intention to disparage so useful 
and amiable a quality as courtesy. On the contrary, 
experience has thoroughly convinced me of the 
great practical importance of that quality, as a 
means of smoothing down the little asperities of so- 
ciety, and of rendering the communications be- 
tween man and man profitable, easy, and agreeable. 
Under these impressions, T cannot rightly do other- 
wise than express my earnest desire, that the junior 
members of our religious society, may more and 
more estimate the advantage of polite manners, and 
study a true civilitv towards all around them — that 



344 PLAINNESS OF BEHAVIOUR. 

they may never so mistake the religious principles 
professed by Friends, as to imagine that there is 
any thing to be found in those principles, which 
justifies a want of refinement, gentleness, and deli- 
cate attention, or which can lead us to withhold, 
from our superiors, that respectful demeanour and 
that willing service, so evidently their due.* 

True courtesy of manners is one of the natural 
fruits of the love of God " shed abroad" in the heart. 
It is christian benevolence carried into detail, and 
operating upon all the circumstances of social life. 
"Be kindly affectioned one to another" says the 
apostle Paul, " with brotherly love; in honour pre- 
ferring one another;" Rom. xii. 10. "Be ye all of 
one mind," exclaims Peter, in the same spirit, " ha- 
ving compassion one of another; love as brethren; 
be pitiful, be courteous;" I. Pet. iii. 8. It is surely 
undeniable that a true politeness — a christian cour- 
tesy — may be exercised without the intervention of 
complimentary phraseology, or of bodily obeisances. 
It is indeed very evident that these practices, espe- 
cially when applied in excess, are nothing more 
than a formal and fictitious representative of the 
genuine quality; and that, in the society of the 
world, they are very frequently employed as a mere 
cover for the want of it. Those persons who are 
brought to abstain from them on christian princi- 

* I venture to take the present opportunity of suggesting to the considera- 
tion of my young* friends, whether it be not proper for us when we speak 
to a person older than ourselves, or otherwise our superior, to use the fami- 
ly name, in addition to the first name of the person addressed. This sim- 
ple and unexceptionable mark of deference, prevents the appearance of 
undue familiarity: and let it be remembered, that undue familiarity not only 
involves a breach of good manners, but is often productive of moral injury 



PLAINNESS OF APPAREL. 345 

pie, from the humble desire to walk circumspectly 
before God, and from a genuine love of the law of 
their Redeemer, will be preserved in meekness and 
tenderness of mind towards their fellow creatures. 
Obedience to the " still, small, voice" of the Spirit 
of Christ is, in an eminent degree, calculated to pro- 
mote these dispositions; and the very cross which 
such an obedience entails upon us, will be found 
efficacious in promoting the same end. Now this 
meekness and tenderness of mind will be found th,e 
best of antidotes against unkindness of conduct, or 
rudeness and incivility in deportment. United with 
christian benevolence, they will generally be effec- 
tual in polishing the roughest materials, and in con- 
verting even the homely tradesman or the humble 
mechanic into the real gentleman. 

III. PLAINNESS OF APPAREL. 

It is much to be regretted, as the more reflecting 
observers of the christian church will probably al- 
low, that so many persons, who are blessed with a 
serious view of religion, and who profess to be the 
dedicated followers of a crucified Lord, appear to 
entertain scarcely any objection to the decking and 
ornamenting of their frail bodies : bodies destined 
so soon to moulder into dust, and to become a prey 
for worms ! Such a conduct, however general in 
the world, and however slightly observed because 
of its being general, is far more worthy of the un- 
tutored Indian who fondly delights in the bauble 



346 PLAINNESS OF APPAREL. 

and the bead, than of the christian, who serves a 
spiritual master, and lives with eternity in view. 

Although no one can move in what is called the 
religious ivorld, without meeting with instances 
which justify these reflections, it ought to be acknow- 
ledged that among many others — perhaps the plu- 
rality of serious christians — a great degree of mode- 
ration is observed in the ornamenting of their 
persons ; an observation which, I believe, applies 
with a peculiar force to the Wesley an Methodists. 
Nevertheless, on a general view of the habits of 
christians in this respect, it will not perhaps be con- 
sidered irrelevant, if entire plainness of apparel be 
treated on as one of the " religious peculiarities" of 
the Society of Friends. 

The principles which we entertain on this subject 
are very simple, and they appear to have an imme- 
diate connexion with the divine law. Among those 
numerous modifications of self-love which are dis- 
played in the character of unregenerate man, is to 
be numbered personal vanity. Ridiculous and ab- 
surd as is this petty propensity of the human mind, 
it may reasonably be questioned whether there is 
any passion more general. While the prevalence 
of such a disposition affords a lamentable proof 
(among many others) that the heart of man is " de- 
ceitful above all things," it must surely be allowed 
that this is one of those affections which the law of 
Christ forbids us to indulge, and commands us to 
mortify. Since then the custom of ornamenting the 
body plainly originates in personal vanity, and is as 
plainly calculated to encourage the passion from 



PLAINNESS OF APPAREL. 347 

which it springs, it follows, that such a custom must 
be at variance with the law of Christ. 

We ought to distinguish between clothing and 
ornament. Clothing is intended to cover and pro- 
tect the person ; ornament to beautify it. The for- 
mer is necessary both for the maintenance of de- 
cency and for the preservation of health ; and the 
provision which is made for it in nature calls aloud 
for the tribute of thankfulness to the Author of all 
our mercies. The latter is altogether needless for 
the body, and evidently hurtful to the mind. The 
world has mixed clothing and ornament together. 
Some parts of dress are made to serve the purpose 
of clothing, and others that of ornament. Now it is 
the principle of Friends to retain those parts of 
dress by which the body is protected, and to disuse 
those by which it is only adorned. 

It may indeed be observed that those parts of 
t dress which are necessary for protection, may be 
more or less ornamental. There are the coarser 
and finer materials, the more sober and the brighter 
colours. On this point I would remark, that ex- 
cluding splendid and costly apparel, the materials 
of our clothing may fairly be regulated, to a great 
degree, by our circumstances and situation in life— 
and that with respect to colours, those which are 
the least showy and glaring are evidently the most 
in harmony with the sobriety of the christian cha- 
racter. 

That there can be no moral virtue in any parti- 
cular form of dress, is obvious; and the reflecting 
reader will probably agree with me in the sentiment 



348 PLAINNESS OF APPAREL. 

that to insist upon any such form, as if the wearing 
of it were a religious obligation, is to interfere with 
genuine christian simplicity, and to substitute super- 
stition for piety. It is not an uncommon error to 
suppose that Friends make it a matter of religious 
principle, to insist upon a certain form of dress. 
As far as I am acquainted with their sentiments, the 
main principle which they entertain with respect to 
the subject, is that to which I have already adverted — 
namely, that personal vanity is a passion which chris- 
tians ought not to indulge, and therefore that nothing 
is to be introduced into our clothing or added to it 
for the sake of ornament. The appearance of form, 
I might rather say " uniform," in the dress of Friends, 
may be considered as arising in a great degree from 
two causes -.first, that the disuse of all the ornamen- 
tal parts of dress has, in itself, the inevitable effect 
of making them in their attire differ from other peo- 
ple, and resemble one another; secondly, that Friends 
have not allowed themselves to change their mode 
of dress from time to time, in pursuance of the ever- 
varying fashions of the world. Those who refuse 
to comply with such changes in fashion, except 
when they really promote convenience, will pre- 
sently discover that their personal appearance is 
singular. And yet such a refusal to follow a series 
of changes so generally grounded on the merest 
folly and vanity, is surely no more than consistent 
with christian simplicity and gravit}^ 

The precepts in Scripture respecting plainness of 
apparel are directed specifically to the female sex. 
In considering those precepts, however, it becomes 



PLAINNESS OF APPAREL. 349 

us to remember, that the principles on which they 
are founded are equally imperative upon both sexes; 
nor will it be disputed that if the adorning of the 
person is reprehensible in women, it must be far 
more evidently blameable in men, whose circumstan- 
ces place them under much less temptation to any 
practice of the kind. 

From certain descriptions in the Old Testament, 
it may be inferred, that, under the legal dispensa- 
tion, the standard maintained of plainness in dress, 
like that of so many other particulars of conduct and 
conversation, was by no means uniformly of the 
highest or strictest ordar. Thus among the gifts 
which Abraham sent to Rebekah were ear-rings and 
bracelets, with jewels of gold and silver, Gen. xxiv. 
53; and the virtuous wife who is so much com- 
mended by king Lemuel, is described as making for 
herself" coverings of tapestr} r ," and as being clothed 
in "purple;" Prov. xxxi. 22. Nevertheless, we may 
learn, from the apostle Peter, that many of the holy 
women of old were exemplary in this respect, I. 
Pet. iii. 5 ; and we know that the profusion of orna- 
ment, by which the Jewish women of a worldly cha- 
racter displayed their personal vanity, called forth 
the righteous indignation of the supreme Being. 
" Moreover, the Lord saith, Because the daughters 
of Zion are haughty, and walk with stretched forth 
necks, and wanton eyes, walking, and mincing as 
they go, and making a tinkling with their feet; 
therefore the Lord will smite with a scab the crown 
of the head of the daughters of Zion. In that day 
tho Lord will take away the bravery of their tink- 




350 PLAINNESS OF APPAREL. 

ling ornaments, and their cauls, and their round 
tires like the moon, the chains, and the bracelets, 
and the mufflers, the bonnets, and the ornaments of 
the legs, and the headbands, and the tablets, and 
the ear-rings, the rings, and the nose-jewels, the 
changeable suits of apparel, and the mantles, and 
the wimples, and the crisping-pins ; the glasses, and 
the fine linen, and the hoods, and the veils. And 
it shall come to pass that instead of sweet smell, 
there shall be stink; and instead of a girdle, a rent; 
and instead of well set hair, baldness ; and instead 
of a stomacher, a girding of sackcloth ; and burning 
instead of beauty ;" Isa. iii.- 16 — 24. 

I have endeavoured to show, that the sentiments 
which Friends entertain, on the subject of plain- 
ness of apparel, arise out of the principles of that 
branch of the divine law, which enjoins the mortifi- 
cation of the carnal affections and vanities of the 
human heart — of the " lust of the flesh, the lust of 
the eye, and the pride of life." Now it will proba- 
bly be allowed, that the extent of the requisitions 
of the law of God, in these respects, was made fully 
apparent only under the more spiritual dispensation 
of Christianity ; and accordingly it is in the New- 
Testament alone, that ornament or finery in attire 
is expressly forbidden. There are in the apostolic 
epistles two passages to this effect " I will, there- 
fore," says Paul to Timothy, " that women 

adorn (or dress) themselves in modest (or neat) ap- 
parel, with shamefacedness and sobriety ; not with 
broidered (or curled and braided*) hair, or gold, or 

* vxeyfjLAtrt. " vmuata not atcincinnos, crines intortos, capillos artifi- 
ciose fiexos et inter se nexos;" Schkusner m vot. 



PLAINNESS OF APPAREL. 351 

pearls, or costly array; but (which becometh wo- 
men professing godliness,) with good works;" I. 
Tim. ii. 8 — 10. The apostle Peter gives very simi- 
lar directions. "Likewise, ye wives," says he, "be 

in subjection to your own husbands," &c. . 

whose adorning, let it not be that outivard adorning, 
of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of 
putting on of apparel.* But let it be the hidden 
man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible ; 
even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, 
which is in the sight of God, of great price ; I. Pet. 
iii. 1 — 4. 

It has been sometimes remarked, that in the 
two passages now cited, the female christian is not 
absolutely required to disuse ornament in dress, 
but only to make the graces and fruits of the Spirit, 
(which, by these apostles, are described as orna- 
ments,) the principal object of her attention and 
pursuit. But I would submit that the impartial 
examiner of the words of Paul and Peter, will by 
no means accede to such an observation. Each of 
these passages contains both a positive and a nega- 
tive injunction : each of them teaches us how chris- 
tian women ought, and how they ought not to adorn 
themselves — what things are, and what things are 
not to be their ornaments. Peter assigns to them 
for an ornament " a meek and quiet spirit, which is 
in the sight of God, of great price," a modest dress 

* It plainly appears from the context that by "the putting on of apparel" 
the apostle means the putting- on of costly or splendid apparel. The Sy- 
riac and Ethiopic translators have added epithets to that effect. ** The 
apostle/' says Dr. Gill, " means such apparel as is unbecoming 1 and un- 
suitable, for he cannot be thought to forbid. the putting- on of any appa- 
rel i" in he. 



352 PLAINNESS OF APPAREL. 

with good works. On the other hand, Peter de- 
clares that their adorning ought not to be " that 
outward adorning of plaiting the hair and of wear- 
ing of gold, and of putting on of (splendid) appa- 
rel ;" and Paul plainly commands them not to adorn 
themselves with " curled or braided hair, or gold, 
or pearls, or costly array." Between the positive 
and the negative injunction respectively given by 
the two apostles, there is evidently preserved a 
complete parallelism. Both are to be taken accord- 
ing to their plain and obvious signification, and both 
must, in all fairness, be considered as binding on 
the followers of Christ. Since, therefore, a decent 
and modest dress, good works, and a meek and 
quiet spirit, are here plainly enjoined, it must sure- 
ly be allowed, that the wearing of splendid apparel, 
the curling and braiding of the hair, and the use of 
other personal ornaments, are forbidden. 

It was the remark of a noted infidel writer, in 
reference to that plainness of dress so customary 
in the Society of Friends, that there is no qudker- 
ism in the works of nature; and nothing perhaps is 
more usually urged in justification of splendid and 
ornamented apparel, than the brightness of the 
flowers, and the gay plumage of the feathered 
tribes. True indeed it is, that the great Creator, 
who has made so many gracious provisions for the 
gladdening of our hearts, and for the gratification 
of our eyes, has scattered his ornaments in rich 
profusion over the face of nature : nor is there any 
thing, save redeeming mercy, more calculated to 
excite in the christian the fueling of humble adora*- 



PLAINNESS OF APPAREL. 353 

tion, than the harmony and beauty of created things. 
Were then our objection against finery in dress 
grounded on the absurd principle that nothing beau- 
tiful or splendid can be good, such an objection 
must undoubtedly vanish before the plumage of the 
peacock, the beauty of the rose, the gaiety of the 
butterfly, and the variegated radiance of the setting 
sun. But we are not so foolish as to object to 
beauty under any of its forms, merely because it is 
beauty ; we scruple only such a misapplication of 
things supposed to be beautiful, as is attended with 
an evil operation on the human mind. In a happy 
sense and grateful admiration of the ornaments of 
nature, there is nothing inconsistent with a religious 
objection to those ornaments which deck the per- 
sons of the children of fashion. The former apper- 
tain to the excellent order of God's creation, and 
are so far from producing any undesirable moral 
effect, that they tend to exalt his praises, and teach 
his intelligent creatures to adore his power, his wis- 
dom, and his goodness. But the latter are orna- 
ments misplaced and perverted: they serve only 
to amuse the thoughtlessness, and to gratify the 
vanity, of fallen man. 

Besides the objection entertained by Friends to 
the indulgence of so antichristian a passion as per- 
sonal vanity, there is a further reason why they re- 
gard a plain dress as peculiarly adapted to the 
profession and views of the christian ; namely, that 
it demands very little thought, and occupies very lit- 
tle time. Every one, on the other hand, who has 
followed the footsteps of the fashionable workl 

2 v 



354 PLAINNESS OF APPAREL. 

must be well aware that there are few things which 
engage more attention, or consume a greater num- 
ber of precious hours, than a gay, fanciful, and stu- 
died, attire. The advantage in this respect, of plain 
apparel over that of an ornamental character, will 
be most properly appreciated by those persons 
who desire to devote their time and talents to their 
Redeemer, and who are looking forward to the day 
when they must render, to the Judge of all flesh. 
an account of their stewardship* 

On reverting to the principal heads of this essay 
on plainness, the reader will recollect that the sub- 
ject has been treated in reference respectively to 
speech, manners, and dress. The plainness of speech 
which distinguishes Friends consists in the disuse 
of a complimentary phraseology — such phraseology 
being considered try them objectionable, first, be- 
cause it is intended to flatter the pride of man, and 
secondly, because it is made up of falsehoods. To 
the plainness of behaviour observed by all true 
christians, Friends have added the peculiarity of 

* The general principles, on which Friends consider it their duty to 
maintain plainness in their apparel, are applicable, in a great extent, to 
the subject of furniture. A due moderation in this respect is particularly 
recommended to us in those general advices of the Yearly Meeting which 
are ordered to be read once in the year in our Quarterly, Monthly, and 
Preparative Meetings. See Book of Extr. p. 148. The following caution 
on the subject of furniture contained in the printed epistle from the Year- 
ly Meeting of 1809 is well worthy of our continued attention: «' A fear 
has prevailed among us at this time that not a few elder Friends, and even 
some who take part in our discipline, have not been sufficiently exempla- 
ry with regard to plainness; particularly in the furniture of their houses. — 
It seems therefore right to caution all against giving- way in this respect to 
the varying and often costly fashions of the age. Though it is a weakness 
which does not seem to savour so much of personal pride as does vain at- 
tire ; yet it bespeaks a mind engaged with trifles, and a fondness for show 
which is inconsistent with the christian character; and it disqualifies for 
duly advising such as mav rush into further degrees of extravagance." 
See Book of Ext. Jlpp. p. 269. 



PLAINNESS OF APPAREL. 355 

avoiding bodily obeisances ; first, because, like the 
phraseology already adverted to, they are merely 
complimentary, and secondly, because some of these 
obeisances are the known outward signs of the wor- 
ship of God himself. Plainness of apparel has been 
adopted by the society, partly to prevent the undue 
engagement of time, but chiefly because ornament 
in dress is employed to gratify that personal vanity, 
which, with every other modification of the pride of 
the human heart, christians are forbidden to indulge 
and enjoined to subdue. It will moreover be recol- 
lected that these peculiarities in our conversation, 
carriage, and appearance, grounded as they thus are 
on certain plain principles of the divine law, are se- 
verally supported by explicit injunctions contained 
in the New Testament. 

This branch of our subject suggests, in conclu- 
sion, one or two general remarks. 

I. We are much accustomed to denominate our 
scruples respecting speech, behaviour, and apparel, 
" minor scruples ;" and since it is evident that sup- 
porting a paid ministry, the awful practice of swear- 
ing, and engaging in warfare and bloodshed, would 
constitute a more serious infraction of what we deem 
to be our religious duty, than a failure of strictness 
with respect to plainness, it may be allowed that 
the word minor, as thus used, is not improperly ap- 
plied. But let it be remembered, that while the 
particulars of conduct, into which these scruples 
lead, are comparatively little, the principles on 
which they are founded are great. Nothing is in- 
significant which really appertains to the divine 



356 PLAINNESS OF APPAREL. 

law; nor are there any parts of that law more im- 
portant than those with which our sentiments re- 
specting plainness are connected, and which enjoin, 
upon the followers of Christ, a godly sincerity, a 
true simplicity, and a consistent humility. The pre- 
sent life is, in great measure, filled up with compa- 
ratively trifling circumstances: and although the 
christian is sometimes called upon to act on occa- 
sions of moment, his conduct, if narrowly examined, 
will be found to consist generally and chiefly in the 
constant succession of the little fruits of great prin- 
ciples. If plainness of speech, behaviour, and appa- 
rel is reckoned, as I think it clearly ought to be, 
among the little fruits of great christian principles, 
let it not be disregarded or despised: for its im- 
portance is to be estimated not so much by the 
minuteness of the particulars in which it is mani- 
fested, as by the magnitude of the fundamental rules 
out of which it arises. 

II. Plainness of speech, behaviour and apparel, 
being thus grounded on great and important princi- 
ples, and being required, as we apprehend, to com- 
plete the circumspect walk of the christian, is 
attended with certain practical consequences very 
influential in promoting our religious welfare. Such 
a plainness produces a striking distinction, which 
is in itself of real value. Who does not perceive, 
that the young Friend, who submits to such re- 
straints upon his language and personal appearance, 
is armed with an important defence against the 
temptations of the world? While he adheres to 
that simplicity of diction which marks the profes- 



PLAINNESS OF APPAREL. 357 

sion of a strict and spiritual religion, he cannot 
easity join in the loose ribaldry and obscene conver- 
sation of the idle and the dissolute ; and, while he 
maintains in his apparel an entire plainness of ap- 
pearance, his accents will be very difficult to the 
haunts of folly, fashion, and dissipation. The lan- 
guage and dress which distinguish him, will not 
only have the effect of discouraging others from 
any attempt to entice him into the vices of the 
world, but, by reminding him, from hour to hour, of 
the high profession which he is making, will be 
found to operate as a constant check upon himself, 
and thus will not fail to prove a useful barrier 
against those multiplied vanities and immoralities 
which abound amongst men. 

III. Such being the practical effect of the pecu- 
liar plainness of Friends, I may now remark that 
although it is not adopted by them on an}^ principle 
of mere expediency, it is nevertheless useful and 
expedient. Nor is this utility confined to the expe- 
rience of individuals ; it extends to the society at 
large. Our plain language, manners, and dress, 
may be regarded as forming an external bulwark, 
by which Friends, considered as a religious com- 
munity, are separated from the world, and in some 
degree defended from its influence. Did we differ 
from other christians, only in the maintenance of 
certain speculative views, such a bulwark would 
perhaps be little needed. But this is not the true 
state of the case. The whole religious peculiarity 
of Friends consists in a series of testimonies, which 
they believe it to be their duty to bear, in their own 



358 PLAINNESS OF APPAREL. 

conduct, against a variety of particular practices, 
affecting partly the worship of God, and partly his 
moral law, which are still prevalent not only among 
unre generate men, but among sincere christians. In 
thus running counter to many of the common cus- 
toms both of mankind at large, and of other chris- 
tian societies, and in upholding what we deem to 
be a higher and purer standard of action, it is plain 
that we have to tread a path of some difficult} 7 , trial, 
and personal mortification, and in order to a con- 
sistent walk in such a course, while our depen- 
dence must ever be chiefly placed on the power of 
the Lord's Spirit, we nevertheless need every out- 
ward assistance and defence, which can be legiti- 
mately derived from our own principles. Such an 
assistance and such a defence are undoubtedlv found 
in our peculiar plainness. 

We well know from experience that when any 
persons amongst us allow themselves to disuse the 
customary language, deportment, and dress, of 
Friends, the effect very often produced is this — 
that they become negligent of our other testimonies, 
gradually depart from religious communion with us, 
and finally, perhaps, connect themselves with chris- 
tian societies of less strictness, or merge in the ir- 
religious world. Instances of this description must 
be familiar to every one who has any intimate ac- 
quaintance with the circumstances and history of 
Friends. Now there is much reason to believe 
that the causes which thus operate on individuals, 
would, in the same manner, and under parallel cir- 
cumstances, affect the society at large : and that 



PLAINNESS OF APPAREL. 359 

were we to sacrifice these protecting peculiarities, 
we should not long continue to maintain, in other 
respects, our particular and appropriate place in 
the church of Christ. Not only would such a sacri- 
fice of our minor scruples naturally introduce a re- 
laxation respecting those major ones which arise 
out of the same root, but, the line of demarcation, 
by which we are now so providentially surrounded, 
being removed, there would be little to prevent 
our becoming completely mixed up with general so- 
ciety. Thus should we be gradually subjected to 
an influence directly opposed to all our peculiar 
views, and, with our distinctness and singularity 
as a religious body, might vertf probably be lost 
the high and conspicuous standard which it is 
now our privilege to uphold, respecting the chris- 
tian law of peace, and respecting the complete spi- 
rituality of the gospel dispensation. 

If then our young men and women are aware of 
the importance and excellency of that standard — if 
they have good reason to believe that our religious 
society is raised up for the purpose of shewing forth 
certain practical truths, not yet fully embraced by 
christians in general — let them not venture to break 
down that " hedge round about us," which not only 
affords a useful protection to themselves, but ap- 
pears to be graciously provided b}^ our heavenly 
Father, for the purpose of preserving us in our pe- 
culiar place, and of facilitating the performance of 
our peculiar duties, in his church universal. Nor 
will those distinguishing habits, which are thus use- 
ful in promoting our own particular views, produce 



360 PLAINNESS OF APPAREL. 

the slightest interruption in our harmony and unity 
with the serious members of other christian com- 
munities. Experience amply proves the contrary 
to be the fact. The religious and consistent Friend 
is at peace with all the world, and is capable of a 
free communion of spirit with many who have little 
or no participation in some of his sentiments. The 
more faithful we are in filling up that place in the 
body which has been assigned to us by the Great 
Head of the church, the greater will be our capaci- 
ty for a true brotherhood with all those persons who 
are building on the same foundation — with all who 
love, serve, and follow, the Lord Jesus Christ. 



CONCLUSION. 



Our discussion of the several religious sentiments 
and practices in great measure peculiar to the So- 
ciety of Friends being now brought to its conclusion, 
the reader is invited to take a short and general re- 
view of that train of reflection which has been pur- 
sued in the present volume. For this purpose, his 
recollection will be assisted by the following sum- 
mary. 

However the members of any particular religious 
community may rejoice in those privileges, which, 
in consequence of the adoption of certain principles, 
attach in a pre-eminent manner to themselves, they 
ought never to lay aside a just and candid view of 
the spiritual blessings which are offered to all man- 
kind, and of those, more particularly, which apper- 
tain to all the true members of the visible church of 
Christ. All men are the children of God by creation, 
and over all he extends his loving kindness and 
tender mercy. Christ died for all men, and all, as 
we may conclude from certain passages of Scripture, 
are endued with a measure of the moral light and 
redeeming power of the Spirit of truth. With re- 
spect to the true members of the visible church of 
Christ, these, to whatever name, sect, or country, 
they may belong, are the common participants of 
the especial favours of their Lord. It is their hap- 
piness to love and serve an incarnate, crucified, risen, 



362 CONCLUSION. 

and glorified, Redeemer. They enjoy a superabun- 
dant light ; an exceeding grace ; a revealed and es- 
tablished hope ; and a pre-eminent degree of the 
communion of the Holy Spirit. 

United as all real christians are on the basis of 
fundamental truth, they are found to differ from one 
another in their view and estimate of various parti- 
culars in religion. Thus (for the present) do those 
principles, which are essential to the salvation of 
souls, pass to the various classes of true christians, 
through as various mediums ; and although some of 
these mediums are evidently purer and more spiritual 
than others, it may be acknowledged, (with gratitude 
to that Being whose mercies are manifold and whose 
resources are infinite,) that this consequence of hu- 
man infirmity is overruled for good, and that there 
is permitted to exist, in the christian church, a real 
and even useful variety of administration, under one 
Head. 

Christians, however, while they abstain from 
judging one another on such matters, and rejoice in 
their great and common salvation, ought neverthe- 
less to endeavour after aj'ull persuasion respecting 
their peculiar religious views; — to examine the 
foundation on which they rest ; — to leave hold of 
them and suffer them to pass away, if their founda- 
tion is a bad one; but, if they are grounded, accord- 
ing to the decision of their deliberate judgment, on 
the unchangeable truth of God, to cleave to them 
with integrity, patience, and perseverance. Let us, 
who belong to the Society of Friends, apply these 
remarks to our own religious peculiarities. They 



CONCLUSION. 363 

are evidently of a striking character, and of consi- 
derable importance in their practical results, and 
even at first sight they appear calculated to promote 
the tranquillity of the world, and the spiritual pros- 
perity of the church of Christ. What then is the 
nature, what the authority, of those principles out 
of which they spring? 

In reply to this enquiry it may be observed, in 
the first place, that the great doctrine which lies at 
the root of them — a doctrine declared in Scripture, 
and admitted to be true by the generality of pious 
christians — is that of the immediate and percep- 
tible guidance of the Holy Spirit. Whatever may 
be the experience of other persons, it is certainly 
our experience, that the very same guiding and go- 
verning Spirit, which leads the right-minded amongst 
us into the practice of universally acknowledged 
christian virtues, also leads into these peculiarities; 
and hence we derive a satisfactory conviction that 
they are truly consistent with the law of God, and 
arise out of its principles. 

In order to the confirmation of this general argu- 
ment, we cannot do better than bring our several 
peculiarities, respectively, to the test of that clear 
revelation of the divine will, which is contained in 
the Holy Scriptures, and which more particularly 
distinguishes the New Testament. Such has been 
the work attempted in the present volume. The 
points first considered, in pursuance of this plan, 
have been those which have a more immediate con- 
nexion with our religious duties towards God him- 
self. Again to recapitulate the arguments adduced, 



364 CONCLUSION. 

on the several particular objects alluded to, would 
be at once tedious and unnecessary ; but the reader 
will recollect that our disuse of typical ordinances, — 
our refusal to admit any ministry in our congrega- 
tions but such as flows from the immediate influences 
of the Holy Spirit,— our views respecting the se- 
lection, preparation, and ordination, of the ministers 
of the gospel, — our declining to participate in the 
prevalent system of hiring preachers, or of otherwise 
making for the ministry pecuniary returns, — .our 
allowance of the public praying and preaching of 
females, — and our practice of waiting together upon 
the Lord in silence, — are all grounded on the great 
christian law, that they who worship God, who is a 
spirit, ''mast worship him in spirit and in truth." 
We conceive it to be in precise accordance with 
the principle of this law,— a law which in some 
respects distinguished the dispensation of Christian- 
ity from that of Judaism, — that we abandon all 
ceremonial and typical ordinances, all forms of 
prayer, all written and prepared ministry, all human 
interference in the steps preceding the exercise of 
the sacred office, and all purchase or hire of its ad- 
ministrations ; that we attempt not the use of words 
when words are not required of us; and that, while 
we endeavour to place an exclusive reliance on the 
Great High Priest of our profession, we do not 
hesitate to make way for the liberty of his Spirit, 
and to suffer the wind to blow where it listeth. 

The views thus entertained by the Society of 
Friends, on the subject of worship, arise from the 
entirely spiritual principles, as we deem them, of 



CONCLUSION. 365 

the christian dispensation. We conceive, however, 
that the divine Author and Minister of that dispen- 
sation not only brought to light and instituted, 
among his followers, the highest standard of divine 
worship, but promulgated also a perfect code of 
practical morality. It is the deliberate opinion of 
Friends, — an opinion which they have often found 
it their duty to declare, — that this moral code ought 
to be maintained, by the followers of Jesus, in all 
its original purity ; that no compromise ought to be 
made between the law of the world and the law of 
God ; that the latter can never rightly yield, either 
to the dictates of human wisdom, or to the requisi- 
tions of apparent expediency. In consequence of 
the impression made on our minds by this general 
sentiment, (a sentiment which, however far it may 
be from being confined to ourselves, is probably 
maintained in our society with a more than common 
degree of completeness, we have been led to avoid 
various practices, which are still usual, not only 
among worldly-minded persons, but among many 
sincere and even pious christians. We conceive it 
to be in true consistency with the requisitions of 
the divine will, when rightly understood, that we 
abstain from lowering the standard of truth, and 
from a presumptuous cursing of self, by the utter- 
ance of oaths ; from infringing the law of love, by 
taking any part either in offensive or in defensive 
w r arfare ; from fomenting the pride of man by the 
use of flattering titles and expressions, in their na- 
ture wholly complimentary; from addressing to 
mortals those acts of reverence which are on other 



366 CONCLUSION. 

occasions employed to mark our allegiance to the 
Deity himself; from gratifying our own vanity, 
by the useless ornamenting of the person or the 
apparel ; and from a conformity with some other 
common customs which we consider to have an evil 
tendency. 

Now the reader will recollect that these several 
peculiarities — appertaining partly to worship, and 
partly to the conduct of common life — are not only, 
according to our apprehension, the natural and law- 
ful results of certain plain christian principles, but 
are for the most part found to derive no slight sup- 
port and confirmation from particular passages of 
the sacred writings, and especially of the New Tes- 
tament, which appear to bear to them respectively 
a precise and specific relation. 

Such is a short and general summary of the con- 
tents of the preceding essays. It may now be re- 
marked, that another general argument, in favour 
of the christian origin of our religious peculiarities, 
is suggested by the consideration of them as parts 
of a whole. The religion of Friends, when regarded 
as a system of doctrine and practice, may be describ- 
ed as consisting of many points, on which their 
views are coincident with those of their fellow- 
christians, and of others the holding of which is, 
more or less, confined to themselves. Now, among 
the various parts which constitute this whole, there 
exists an uninterrupted and very striking harmony. 
Whilst our peculiarities are in no degree inconsist- 
ent with those fundamentals in religion, which are 
common to all true christians, they will be found in 



CONCLUSION. 367 

a remarkable manner adapted to one another. Our 
high view, respecting the unprofitableness of re- 
ligious ceremonies, and the total abolition of types, 
is completely in accordance with views equally high, 
in relation to the true nature and right exercise, the 
divine origin and absolute freedom, of the christian 
ministry. And with our sentiments in regard to 
the ministry, nothing can be more properly coinci- 
dent, than our doctrine respecting the importance 
and utility of silent worship. Nor is it less evident 
that the estimate which we have been led to form 
of christian morality, as evinced in a practical testi- 
mony borne against all swearing and fighting, and 
in favour of complete plainness and simplicity in 
conduct and conversation, is on a level with such of 
our principles as appertain to the subject of worship, 
and constitutes a necessary part of one complete 
and harmonious view of the purity, spirituality, and 
true perfection, of the gospel dispensation- We 
know that in systems of religion which are of merely 
human invention — which have no better authority 
than the wisdom of the creature — there are ever 
found some inconsistent and discordant particulars, 
which betray the secret that the work is of man. 
In the absence of such inconsistency, therefore, in 
the nice and accurate adjustment of part with part, 
of sentiment with sentiment, of practice with prac- 
tice, in the unbroken harmony which pervades the 
great whole, — I cannot but perceive a strong con- 
firming evidence that the religious system of Friends 
results from the operations of the divine Spirit, and 



36,8 CONCLUSION. 

is bottomed on the unvarying principles of the law 
of God. 



Since then the views and practices which have 
been considered in the present work are maintained, 
as a whole, by no christian society except that of 
Friends, and since they appear to be rightly grounded 
on certain essential principles in the divine law, and 
to be adapted, with singular exactness, to the purity 
and spirituality of the gospel dispensation, I may 
venture with humility to express my own sentiment, 
that Friends, viewed as a distinct fraternity in the 
church universal, have been brought to a greater 
degree of religious light, and to juster views of the 
true standard of worship and conduct, than any other 
class or denomination of christians with whom I 
have the privilege of being acquainted. While, 
therefore, I well know the value of that fellowship 
in the gospel which subsists among all the true be- 
lievers in the Lord Jesus, and while I hope never 
to forget the vastly paramount importance of those 
great and fundamental principles which are common 
to them all, I find myself in an especial manner 
attached to that particular society, and the conviction 
which I have now expressed is the ground of this 
attachment. While I am far from depreciating the 
usefulness of any existing class of serious christians, 
and while I believe that they are severally permit- 
ted to occupy appropriate departments in the fold 
of the great Shepherd, I nevertheless entertain the 



CONCLUSION. 369 

sentiment, (in unison, it may be hoped, with the 
views of many of my readers) that a peculiar im- 
portance attaches to the station maintained in the 
church of Christ by the pious among Friends ; and 
for this reason — that they appear to be the appoint- 
ed depositaries of certain plain, practical, christian 
truths, which are at present far from being gene- 
rally received, but which, originating in the will of 
God, as it is both inwardly and outwardly revealed, 
may be expected, as the church on earth gradually 
advances to a condition of greater spirituality, to 
become more widely disseminated, and more fully 
allowed. 

Small as are the numbers who properly belong 
to our society, and who are connected together by 
the wholesome rules of its discipline, it will perhaps 
be admitted that this result has already taken place 
in no very inconsiderable degree. The inefficacy 
of all merely human forms and contrivances in the 
work of religion, — the inconsistency of typical rites 
with the entire spirituality of the christian law of 
worship, — the propriety of waiting upon God from 
time to time in reverent silence, — the excellence 
and advantage of a ministry of the gospel, neither 
appointed nor paid by man, but freely exercised 
under the direct influence of the Spirit of Christ, — 
the danger and sinfulness of all swearing, — the value 
of an undeviating principle of christian love, for- 
bearance, and peace,— -and the beauty of a correct 
and complete simplicity in word, appearance, and 
deportment, — are points, as we may humbly hope, 
gently yet plainly opening to the view of many se- 

3 A 



370 CONCLUSION. 

rious christians of different denominations, and in 
various parts of the world. Nor can I conceal from 
myself, that any such approach towards the religious 
sentiments entertained by the society of Friends must 
be of real and important advantage to the church at 
large : for however the name of quakerism may be 
disregarded, and ultimately perhaps forgotten, the 
more general adoption of those principles by which 
Friends are at present distinguished, must, accord- 
ing to my apprehension, have a decided and very 
powerful tendency to the introduction of a better 
day;— a. day, when all men shall cease to place an 
undue dependence upon the teaching of their neigh- 
bour, and shall know the Lord for themselves ; 
when the government of his own church shall rest 
more exclusively upon him who is Wonderful, 
Counsellor, the Prince of Peace ; when the sword 
shall be beat into the ploughshare, and the spear in- 
to the pruning-hook; when the wolf shall dwell with 
the lamb, and the lion lie down with the kid; when 
the glory of the Lord shall be more immediately 
and abundantly revealed, and when " all flesh shall 
see it together." 

The reader can scarcely fail to understand, that, 
in th\is expressing my attachment to the Society of 
Friends, in preference to other christian bodies, my 
attention is still directed exclusively to the religious 
principles which Friends profess, and by which 
many of them sincerely endeavour to order their 
walk in life. I am very far from forgetting our de- 
ficiencies and imperfections as a community, or how 
very apt we are, as individuals, to fall short in our 
conduct of that high spiritual and moral standard 



CONCLUSION. 37 I 

which so plainly, so pre-eminently, attaches to our 
profession. One great reason why the religious 
principles of Friends are not found to take a more 
rapid and extended course in the church and in the 
world, is probably this — that so many of us fail, in 
various respects, from properly regulating our prac- 
tice according to those principles. I desire to ap- 
ply this observation, in the first place, to myself, 
and, secondly, I cannot be satisfied to conclude 
these essays without urging on my young friends, 
and on all my brethren and sisters in religious pro- 
fession, the importance, to ourselves, to the society 
of which we are members, and to the church uni- 
versal, of our walking worthily of the vocation where- 
with ive are called. ^ 

This subject may be considered, in the first 
place, as it relates to those christian testimonies 
which distinguish our own body in the church, and 
which have been considered at large in the present 
volume. Since we have so much reason to be con- 
vinced that these religious peculiarities have origi- 
nated, not in the imagination of men, but in the will 
of God — that we have been led into the practice of 
them by the Spirit of truth — that they accord with 
the dictates of the divine law, as it is recorded in 
the Scriptures — that they are of an edifying ten- 
dency, and are calculated to promote the spiritual 
welfare both of our own society and of the church 
at large — and finally that they are in a particular 
manner deposited in our keeping — it unquestion- 
ably becomes us to maintain them during our walk 
through life, with simplicity, sincerity, firmness, and 
diligence. 



372 CONCLUSION. 

That it is our true interest as well as duty to be 
faithful in the observance of such a course, is suffi- 
ciently evident, from this single consideration — 
that, in the sight of Him who is the Judge of all 
men and the Author of every blessing,- "to obey is 
better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of 
rams;" I. Sam. xv. 22. But the same inference may 
be deduced from another position equally incontro- 
vertible, viz : that the christian's religious pros- 
perity and advancement in grace will ever be found 
to depend, in no inconsiderable degree, upon his 
keeping his own right place in the body of Christ. 

It is by no means difficult to figure to ourselves 
the case of a loose and latitudinarian quaker, and 
to mark the dangers by^vhich he is surrounded. 
Placed by the good hand of Divine Providence un- 
der that high administration of Christianity which I 
have now been endeavouring to describe, and plain- 
ly called upon to glorify God by the steady main- 
tenance of our peculiar religious testimonies, he 
flies from the mortifications which they involve, and 
pacifies his conscience with the persuasion that 
nothing more is necessary for him, than an adher- 
ence to those fundamental truths, the profession of 
which is common to christians in general. The 
impartial observer will probably allow that such 
an individual greatly deceives himself, and falls 
into a very dangerous snare. He stifles the secret 
convictions of his own mind, quenches the gentle 
and salutary influences of the Lord's Spirit, leans 
to his own understanding, indulges himself in plau- 
sible and misapplied reasoning, and departs from 
that practical confidence in God, which is the life 



CONCLUSION. 373 

and substance of true religion. However he may 
cherish the notion that he is still maintaining the 
general principles of Christianity, he neglects to 
carry those principles into detail, omits his own du- 
ty, and fails to occupy that station in the church 
which has been really assigned to him by the 
Shepherd and Bishop of souls. The lamentable 
consequences of such a failure — of such a frustra- 
tion of the gracious purposes of his Divine Master 
— are but too evident. So far is he from growing 
in grace, and from prospering in that christian 
course which is trodden by all the followers of 
Christ, that he too often dwindles into a carnal, life- 
less, and worldly spirit, and gradually loses his foot- 
ing on the rock of ages. 

It has occasionally happened that some of our 
members who have never thoroughly understood or 
embraced the sentiments of Friends, and who have 
been thrown into much intimate association with 
other christians, have quitted the ranks of the socie- 
ty, and have been permitted, under some other ad- 
ministration of religion, to pursue their christian 
course with seriousness, zeal, and fidelity. Although 
I am persuaded that such persons would never have 
forsaken so pure and practical a form of Christianity, 
had they been more fully aw T are of the christian 
grounds and real value of our principles ; it is not 
to them that the observations now offered are in- 
tended to be applied ; but to another class of per- 
sons somewhat more numerous than they; — persons 
whose notions of religion are derived almost exclu- 
sively through the medium of Friends, and who are 
secretly convinced of the veracity of our principles ; 



374 CONCLUSION. 

but who, nevertheless, are unfaithful to the light 
bestowed upon them, and pusillanimously forsake 
the peculiar testimonies of the society, as soon as 
they are exposed by them to the necessity of deny- 
ing their own wills and of bearing the cross of Christ. 
Such persons have both known and slighted the 
visitations of divine love in their hearts, and now 
perhaps they are left in a state of dwarfishness and 
sterility, destitute at once both of the form and of 
the substance of religion. Our gracious Redeemer 
appears to have marked out for us within his varied 
and extended fold, a little space, where we may 
dwell in safety and find abundant opportunity to 
promote "the glory of God in the highest, and on 
earth peace and good will to men." But no sooner 
do we transgress the limits by which we are encir- 
cled, forsake our own station, and neglect the per- 
formance of those particular duties in the church 
which are committed to our charge, than we lose 
our religious strength, and are in great danger of 
falling back into the spirit of a vain and irreligious 
world. Finally, when this lamentable effect is pro- 
duced, " the salt has lost its savour," and is " thence- 
forth good for nothing but to be cast out and to be 
trodden under foot of men ;" Matt. v. 13. 

Let us then be circumspect, steady, and bold, in 
the observance of our peculiar religious testimonies. 
Believing, as I trust we do, that they are given us 
in charge by Him who hath "all power in heaven 
and in earth," let us pray for his grace, that we may 
be preserved from the snares of the enemy, and may 
be enabled, in an awful day to come, to give a good 
account of our stewardship. We know that in exact 



CONCLUSION. 375 

proportion with the measure of light bestowed upon 
us is the weight, the extent, the awfulness, of our 
responsibility ! 

Here it may not be improper to remark, that the 
true efficacy of our religious peculiarities will great- 
ly depend on the degree of completeness with which 
we maintain them. The double-minded man is de- 
clared to be " unstable in all his ways," and nothing 
surely is more calculated to diminish our usefulness 
in the church, than a want of true consistency. The 
garment " mingled of linen and woollen" was forbid- 
den under the law, and such a garment (to employ 
the expressions in a metaphorical sense,) is worn 
by those persons, who, in some of their actions, 
adopt the highest standard of christian conduct, and 
on other occasions, are content with one of a very 
subordinate character. Is not such a description 
in some degree applicable to the member of the 
Society of Friends who refuses to take an oath, but 
consents to the payment of ecclesiastical demands ? 
Or to him who bears a clear testimony in respect to 
tithes, but indirectly assists in military operations 
or carries arms in self-defence? Or to him who is 
faithful in all these particulars, but conforms to the 
fashions of the world in his language, manners, and 
appearance ? Or to him who wears a plain dress, 
but scruples not the use of flattering titles ? I have 
already found occasion to remark, that throughout 
the religious system adopted by Friends, there ex- 
ists an unbroken harmony — a real adaptation of 
practice with practice, and of part with part ; and 
no so ; 0ner is any one of our testimonies forsaken, 
than this harmony is interrupted, and the work is 



376 CONCLUSION. 

in some degree (whether greater or less) marred 
upon the wheel. Undoubtedly it cannot be expect- 
ed that those persons, whether members of. the so- 
ciety or otherwise, who are under the influence of 
convincement, should be brought to see the whole 
of their duty at once. It is more probable that the 
several points of the prospect should open upon 
them in succession. But as they are preserved in 
watchfulness unto prayer, and enabled to "follow 
on to know the Lord," I believe they will find that 
our several religious views and practices are the 
result of perfectly accordant principles, and flow 
from the same Spirit; and that in order to glorify 
God in the way which he has thus cast up for us, it is 
needful that we maintain them all, in a simple, un- 
deviating, and consistent, manner. 

Many of my readers must indeed be well aware, 
that the performance of our duty in these respects 
is no light, easy, or familiar, matter. In abstaining 
from so great a variety of practices which we deem 
to be inconsistent with the spirituality and purity 
of the gospel, and in thus opposing the opinions 
and habits of the generality of our fellow-christians, 
it is our lot, as I have already observed, to tread a 
very narrow path, and to be exposed to many cir- 
cumstances of a mortifying nature. Let us then 
seek to be preserved in deep humility ; for this is 
a condition of mind, which, above all others, will be 
found to soften the asperities and to diminish the 
difficulty of our course. The more our own pride 
and vanity are laid low; the more we are redeemed 
from pursuit of that false honour, which is given 
and received by man, the better shall we be pre- 



CONCLUSION. 377 

pared for the service of Christ, and the less will be 
the pain of our conflict, in becoming fools in the 
sight of the world, for his sake. And, truly, we 
need not fear to take up the cross which we are 
thus called upon to bear, for, if we be but faithful 
in following the monitions of our heavenly Guide, 
we shall find that his grace is sufficient for us, and 
that true wisdom is still "justified of her chil- 
dren." It will be amply demonstrated in our ex- 
perience, as it is in that of every humble and de- 
voted christian, that the "foolishness of .God is 
wiser than me*n, and the weakness of God stronger 
than men." Nor shall we dare to repine, when we 
reflect on the known characteristics of the christian 
calling : " For ye see your calling, brethren," said 
the apostle, " how that not many wise men after the 
flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are call- 
ed ; but God hath chosen the foolish things of the 
world to confound the wise ; and God hath chosen 
the weak things of the world to confound the things 
which are mighty : and base things of the world, 
and things which are despised hath God chosen, yea 
and things which are not, to bring to nought things 
that are; that no flesh should glory in his pre- 
sence ;" I. Cor. i. 26—29. 

Having thus considered the dangers and evils 
which attach to the latitudinarian professor of the 
truth, as we hold it, we ought by no means to for- 
get those which are equally inseparable from the 
condition of the formalist. Such is the weakness, 
such the deceitfulness, of our hearts, that our very 
abstinence from forms may sometimes become for- 

3 B 



378 CONCLUSION. 

mal, and our several religious peculiarities may be 
maintained in the very spirit of the Scribes and 
Pharisees, who paid " tithe of mint and anise and 
cummin," and omitted "the weightier matters of the 
law — judgment, mercy and faith ;" Matt, xxiii. 23. It 
is an awful thing to be liable in any respect to the 
charge of hypocrisy; for this is a sin which, as it 
finds a place in us, must not only render us very 
offensive in the sight of God, but can never fail to 
retard the progress of that cause which we profess 
to love and to promote. When those who object 
to war in all its forms, as inconsistent with the 
christian principle of love, forget in their private 
life the law of meekness and long-suffering, and 
yield themselves a prey to wrath, malice, envy, and 
bitterness ; when those who speak of worshipping 
the Father in a pre-eminently spiritual manner, are 
really living in the neglect of devotional duty; when 
those who sedulously shun the idle vanities of ge- 
neral society, are seduced into that covetousness 
which is idolatry, or are found indulging their gross 
and sinful appetites ; when those who, in professed 
adherence to the law of truth, refuse to substitute 
even the You for the Thou, are found defective in 
common sincerity of language, or integrity of con- 
duct : — then, indeed, the cause of truth is fearfully 
laid waste, and all that is distinguishing in our re- 
ligious system is thrown, to the eyes of the en- 
quiring world, into a deep and almost impenetrable 
shade. 

However reasonably we may entertain the hope 
that the character of but few of our members will 
correspond in any great degree to the description 



CONCLUSION. 379 






now given, that description may, nevertheless, be 
partially and slightly applicable to many ; and all 
of us, indeed, who are attached by the force of 
long-continued habit to the practices of Friends, 
have great need of watchfulness, lest we fall in- 
to this snare of our enemy ; — lest, while he leaves 
us in quiet possession of the figure or shell, he 
rob us of the substance and kernel of our religion. 

In conclusion I would remark, that the true pre- 
servative from any such dereliction of the virtue, 
honour, and love, which become our religious pro- 
fession, as well as from the neglect of those duties 
which are in some degree confined to ourselves, will 
ever be found in the fear of God, and in a steady, 
abiding, reliance upon our Lfcrd and Saviour Jesus 
Christ. If Christ be made unto us, of the Father, 
"wisdom, righteousness, s an ctifi cation, and redemp- 
tion," we shall not fail to live " as obedient chil- 
dren." Reconciled unto God through faith in our 
Redeemer, and subjected to the government of the 
Holy Spirit, we shall order our steps aright, imi- 
tate the goodness of our Heavenly Pattern, grow 
in grace and holiness, and experience a happy de- 
liverance from the power and dominion of the prince 
of darkness. 

Let us ever remember that there is no use or 
security in the superstructure, except it be erected 
upon a sure foundation ; and that, in religious mat- 
ters, " other foundation can no man lay than that is 
laid, which is Christ Jesus"* Solicitous as I am 

* When our blessed Lord was conversing with the Jews on the subject 
of ihe Holy Scriptures, he said, "They are they which testify of me," John 



380 CONCLUSION. 

that our peculiar testimonies should be maintained 
by us with all that faithfulness and vigour which 
their practical importance demands, I am perfectly 
aware that they are no sooner separated from vital 
Christianity, than they become vain and unprofit- 
able—deprived at once of all their efficacy and of all 
their stability. May it then be our humble and 
diligent endeavour to draw nigh unto the Father of 
Mercies, through " the blood of the everlasting cove- 
nant," and to live " by faith in the Son of God." 
Thus, and. thus only, shall we be enabled to bear 
with acceptance the goodly fruits of righteousness, 
to glorify the name of our God, and to fulfil the par- 
ticular purposes for which he has seen meet to raise 
us up from among the children of men, to be, dur- 
ing his own good pleasure, a distinct and separate 
religious people. 

v. 39; and in exact conformity with this declaration, the apostle Paul has 
taught us, that these inspired writing's are able to make us (( wise unto sal- 
vation through faith which is in Christ Jesus ? II. Tim. iii. 15. The Scrip- 
tures may indeed be justly considered as the principal outward means ap- 
pointed by an allwise and merciful Deity, to promote the maintenance of his 
children on that one foundation, of which we are now speaking. 

1 venture to avail myself of the present opportunity, in order to remark, 
that as a sedulous attention to the Bible is a duty incumbent upon chris- 
tians in general, so it is of especial importance to the members of the So- 
ciety of Friends, who are not accustomed to hear the Scriptures read in their 
places of worship, and whose principles have led them to the disuse of 
some other outward means in religion, to which their fellow christians are 
generally habituated. 

That the performance of this duty is strongly enjoined by our Socie- 
ty on its members, those who are acquainted with the course of our dis- 
cipline are well aware. May our attention be more and more directed to 
so important a subject; and may we be found diligent not only in the 
daily reading of Scripture with our families, but in that private perusal of 
it, in seasons of solitude and retirement — not without secret prayer for di- 
vine illumination — by means of which its sacred and edifying contents may 
be yet more clearly opened to our understandings, and yet more deeply 
impressed upon our hearts. 

THE END. 



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